AI automation will kill thousands of jobs in next 5 years, says IBM CEO

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna revealed on Tuesday that the company plans to replace select roles with artificial intelligence (AI) in the next five years.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Krishna said the departments most vulnerable to an AI takeover are human resources and other back-office functions, with 30 per cent of these jobs being replaced by AI automation in the near future.

IBM, which currently employs around 260,000 people, announced nearly 4,000 layoffs earlier this year as part of cost-cutting measures.

The move reflects a growing trend among companies to use AI to replace certain roles, with Amazon and others also looking to cut HR positions in favour of automation. However, there are concerns that AI could lead to job losses, and some have called for greater regulation to prevent the misuse of the technology.

Krishna believes that the rise of AI will create new jobs and increase productivity. He said, "It’s not as simple as jobs go away. The number of jobs though, perhaps in customer care, in coding, in business process, in developing artificial intelligence is going to increase so much that the net increase is going to be positive while there’s a movement from one area to the other and that by the way has been the nature of technology for 250 years."

The announcement comes amid a wider trend of companies looking to use AI to replace some job functions. Some entrepreneurs have called for regulation and government intervention in the development of AI, citing concerns about the impact on jobs and society as a whole. However, others have argued that AI could actually help employees save time by getting rid of certain jobs that are no longer necessary.

Elon Musk has been one of the most vocal critics of AI, signing an open letter calling for a pause on AI development until the end of 2023. Musk has argued that AI needs regulation and government intervention to ensure that it is used responsibly and in the best interests of society. Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella have also called for regulation while noting that AI could ultimately help employees save time by eliminating certain roles that are no longer necessary.