7,800 jobs at IBM could be replaced by AI within years, CEO suggests

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna says that roughly 30% of their non-customer-facing positions could be covered by artificial intelligence over a five-year period.

International Business Machines Corp. is expecting to put a “pause” on hiring for “back-office” roles that could be potentially automated by artificial intelligence instead.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna explained in a May 1 interview with Bloomberg that many “back-office” positions, such as those in the human resources and accounting departments, will likely be the first to be automated by AI.

The IBM boss added he could “easily” see 30% of these positions replaced by AI over a five-year period.

“I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period.”

IBM employs 282,000 employees globally, according to LinkedIn, and Bloomberg reports it has around 26,000 non-customer-facing staff — meaning around 7,800 jobs could be handed over to AI.

Dropbox: Laying off 500 people and replacing them with AI

IBM: Pausing hiring for ~7,800 roles that could be done by AI

AI is already replacing jobs

— Genevieve Roch-Decter, CFA (@GRDecter) May 1, 2023

According to some reports, AI-based automation has already helped IBM save well over $1 billion in business expenses and maintenance costs.

Among the tasks that may be automated include providing employment verification letters or moving employees between departments.

However, Krishna thinks human resource roles that evaluate workforce composition, measure productivity and other tasks that benefit from human judgement likely won’t be replaced over the next decade.

For AI to work, it must be built responsibly. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna shares how organizations can prepare for the challenges and opportunities ahead in @FortuneMagazine: https://t.co/WYBu6VUCuc pic.twitter.com/gZtLwTNklb

— IBM (@IBM) April 24, 2023

Many industry pundits remain at crossroads on whether AI actually has the potential to leave humans without work on a mass scale.

A recent study found that 62% of Americans think implementing artificial intelligence in the workplace will have a “major impact” on workers within the next 20 years, leaving many employees “wary” and “worried” about what their future holds.

The more tech-savvy employees however feel slightly more secure about their future.

Blockchain developer Salman Arshad recently explained to Cointelegraph that instead of AI coming in to wipe out the developer market, it’ll only serve as a tool to increase efficiency.

“You know what your company wants to do. You can tell ChatGPT, and it can perfectly transform your commands into a smart contract, auditing process, document or white paper.”

“ChatGPT and AI tools are a blessing; they are not our enemies and are not here to end the career of a developer,” he added.

Another blockchain developer, Syed Ghazanfer, told Cointelegraph that the combination of human input and ChatGPT offers much more versatility than a complete transition to AI automation.

On the other hand, Dominik Schiener, the founder of the IOTA Foundation, believes that AI will take away employment opportunities from humans but at the same time, AI and robotic process will create new jobs: