IBM CEO has no intention of eliminating a single programmer through AI
AI will enhance the productivity of programmers by up to 30%, Arvind Krishna says
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna has made it clear that his intention is not to lay off any programmers due to AI but rather to increase hiring.
Speaking at the Fortune's CEO Initiative conference in Washington, DC, Krishna stressed the importance of dispelling the misconception that associates productivity gains with job losses.
He provided insight into IBM's own experience with this shift, arguing that the technology would in fact generate more jobs than it would eliminate and that AI would enhance the productivity of programmers by up to 30%.
"I don't intend to get rid of a single one. I'll get more," he said about the IBM programmers.
Krishna emphasised that as IBM gradually phased out several hundred back-office HR positions over a span of three to four years, it simultaneously increased the workforce in software engineering and sales roles. This resulted in a net increase in job opportunities rather than job losses due to AI.
"The increase was like 8,000. The decrease was like 800," he added.
IBM chief clarified that employees were not laid off due to AI transition; instead, certain positions were left unfilled when vacancies arose.
However, he acknowledged that "repetitive white-collar jobs" would undoubtedly be impacted by AI, echoing a point he had previously emphasised.
"The first thing you can automate is a repetitive, white-collar job," he said on Tuesday.
Krishna noted that although AI could handle approximately 10% to 20% of "lower level tasks," he anticipated that it wouldn't entirely replace a person's job since no occupation is solely comprised of such tasks.
He had previously stated that his company would cease hiring for specific roles that could be potentially replaced by AI.
In May, Krishna told Bloomberg that he could easily see 30% of back-office roles getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period — equating to approximately 7,800 jobs within IBM's human resources division.
Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs projected that AI could potentially disrupt over 300 million jobs globally, while McKinsey estimated in July that by 2030, at least 12 million Americans might need to transition to different fields of work due to the impact of AI.
An IBM study in August said approximately 40% of employees would need to undergo reskilling within the next three years due to AI and automation.
During his on-stage interview at the CEO Initiative, Krishna highlighted a distinction between the limited labour market in the developed world, which will require a significant boost in productivity, and the developing world, which will have an abundance of willing workers available to fill job vacancies.
He emphasised the critical role of effectively implementing AI to sustain the current standard of living in the developing world.
Krishna argued that the increase in productivity would facilitate the growth of companies like IBM, allowing them to expand their workforce.
As an example, he cited the unexpected rise of a thriving market for software designers following the introduction of smartphones in the mid-1990s.
"In 1995 no one thought there would be five million web designers—there are," Krishna said.
Cristiano Amon, the CEO of Qualcomm and a fellow panelist, offered the example of Uber, which innovatively utilised smartphones in a way that had not been previously envisioned, ultimately becoming an integral part of consumers' daily lives.