Software company Salesforce has said that development of AI tools is reducing its need to hire engineers and customer service workers.
Since AI has been developing at such a rapid pace, businesses have been rushing to implement it, sometimes not always for the right reasons. However, this has not always led to strong results.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said that companies should be looking at whether AI is producing value, rather than mindlessly running after it. This comes as a result of mixed results surrounding whether AI and its ability to actually make an impact on workers.
Salesforce Admits Reduction in Hiring As a Result of AI Developments
Salesforce has said that the use and development of AI tools within its company has contributed to hiring less workers. In particular, those in engineering or customer services.
The company laid off over 1,000 workers back in February to make way for AI-focused roles. Instead, Chief Financial Operations Officer Robin Washington said that 500 customer service workers would be redeployed to different roles within the company this year, in total saving them $50 million.
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Likewise, the company now expects its roster of 13,000 salespeople to increase by 22% this year. This suggests slowing in hiring for some roles, but an increase in others.
Changes In Hiring Patterns Thanks To AI
In our Impact of Technology on the Workplace report, only 15% of businesses claimed to have never used AI before, compared to 34% the previous year. There have been reports of hiring patterns changing as a result.
Leaders of Alphabet and Microsoft have said that AI is producing about 30% of new code on some projects, and Meta has announced that it will be relying on a class of AI-powered engineers to carry out basic bug fixes and product improvements.
Most recently, Klarna looked to have its AI assistant doing the work of around 700 employees. However, this was previously taken back, as reports of poor customer support and dissatisfaction emerged. Since then, the company has announced its intentions to provide better, “human” support.
AI Is Generating Little Value, Admits Microsoft CEO
A few months ago, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that companies should look to see if AI has any real-world value, rather than just running to keep up with the new tech.
“Suddenly productivity goes up and the economy is growing at a faster rate. When that happens, we’ll be fine as an industry.” – Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO
We are yet to see AI have as much of an impact as Nadella is describing. In fact, there have even been reports of AI stunting productivity by giving workers more tasks, but there have also been other reports on the opposite end of the spectrum.
With companies investing a lot of money (billions, in the case of Microsoft) in AI, it is understandable that results have to be tangible.
