Amid concerns that the rise of automation could lead to an increase in unemployment, International Business Machines, the leading technology corporation in the world, intends to substitute up to 7,800 jobs with bots or artificial intelligence in the coming years, thereby replacing its human resources.
“Hiring for jobs that can be done by AI will be suspended or slowed,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said while talking to Bloomberg.
According to an article published in Metro.co.uk, IBM plans to employ artificial intelligence to replace human resources personnel in as many as 7,800 positions, with back-office functions such as employee documentation and employment verification letters being among the first to be automated.
CEO Arvind Krishna believes that AI and automation could potentially replace around 30% of non-customer-facing jobs within the next five years.
However, he assures that jobs that involve direct customer interaction and software development are not at immediate risk.
Krishna’s statement is likely to receive significant attention as AI continues to gain prominence, exemplified by the success of Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a viral chatbot that gained popularity last year.
IBM has clarified that it has not made any changes to its current hiring policies, stating that it is deliberately and thoughtfully focusing on revenue-generating roles while being highly selective when filling positions that do not directly engage with clients or technology.
A recent study suggested that AI could threaten at least 10% of tasks performed by around 80% of US workers, with tools like ChatGPT having the potential to impact nearly half of the tasks of approximately 19% of workers.
Graduates, masters, and professional degree-holders are more vulnerable to job losses due to AI than those without formal educational credentials.
