The Slight Irony of AI and the Tech Industry Job Market
Let’s get this straight: we’ve spent years building the Frankenstein monster that is Artificial Intelligence (AI), and now it’s finally here, flexing its digital muscles, and the tech industry seems shocked. Yes, you heard it right. The very people that pushed us to “innovate or perish” are now getting a taste of their own medicine. Ironic, isn’t it?
According to the figures from Layoffs.fyi, the tech sector sent a whopping 212,294 folks packing in 2023 alone. This figure even surpasses the 164,709 workers laid off in 2022. It’s not just the layoffs that are causing eyebrows to arch. The real catch? The companies themselves are blaming AI.
The Bitter Pill of Progress
The Education technology company, Chegg, let go 4% of its workforce. Why? They claim it’s all in the pursuit of AI supremacy and creating long-term value. IBM’s CEO, Arvind Krishna, even suggested in a Bloomberg interview that IBM might reconsider new hires for roles at risk of being replaced by AI. But don’t worry, he was quick to add, “AI is going to create more jobs than it takes away.” Well, that’s a relief.
Dropbox Drops the Ball
In April, Dropbox announced they were cutting 16% of their workforce, once again citing AI. Dropbox CEO Drew Houston shared a note to staff saying the company needs a “different mix of skill sets, particularly in AI and early-stage product development”. But that’s not all folks, the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas also kicked 3,900 people to the curb due to the “rise of AI in the tech sector.”
AI: A Tool, Not a Replacement
Before we all go blaming our shiny new AI toys for this unemployment spree, let’s get something straight. According to Dan Wang, a professor at Columbia Business School, “AI will cause organizations to restructure”, but it won’t replace humans. Instead, he says it’ll “enhance the work of humans”. The real competition, he suggests, will be between human specialists and those who can effectively leverage AI tools.
So, maybe it’s not the AI monsters we need to fear. Maybe it’s the humans who refuse to adapt to their changing environment.
