The People Who Build AI Just Admitted It Will Cut Jobs At Scale

Giant robot flicking tiny man. Ai technologies and unemployment problem concept. Vector illustration.

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The builders of artificial intelligence have made AI job displacement and AI workforce disruption much harder to ignore over the last week. The warning was not given by critics, unions or policy groups. The warnings were from the builders. In just two days, three of the largest names in AI went in the same direction. They all stated they will be working on studying how AI impacts jobs, workers, and firms, with the goal that the benefits are shared by many. Anthropic has allocated $200 million as part of its commitment to study the economic impact of AI. Anthropic also recommended a federal structure for addressing the economic disruptions caused by AI. Sam Altman met with Senator Bernie Sanders to discuss the possibility of the government owning shares of AI companies. When those who stand to benefit the most from developing artificial intelligence begin allocating resources to researching the harm created by their products, then the question of if there will be disruption to existing industries becomes less relevant. A smaller business owner should instead ask himself what he can do about it?

What was actually said

Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, said that AI may cause more job loss than other recent technological advancements and potentially for a long time. Therefore, he has advocated for policy tools to help individuals who lose jobs due to reduced labor needs.

Remove the policy language from this quote and it’s clear what Amodei is saying about your future employer: they’re the one using the technology that their developers anticipate will replace many employees. It does not have to be either/or.

The fear in the room

Most every owner I speak with has one form of that worry. Will I reduce my staff if I bring in an artificial intelligence (AI) solution or will I be at risk for falling behind? This week’s headlines have amplified that worry.

The headlines overlooked something. Of more than 2,000 small businesses surveyed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about AI usage, 82% reported increasing their workforce within the last year while utilizing AI. In other words, AI was not replacing employees. Instead it was changing how they spent their time. That is where we believe the true value lies for small business AI adoption and why so many owners are adopting AI as a productivity tool. They are implementing AI solutions in conjunction with a strategic plan regarding future AI workforce needs.

Overhead is not the same as people

The mistake is viewing AI as a means for automating your company’s businesses to reduce your employees. The opportunity lies in utilizing this technology to automate overhead. It is important to note they are not the same thing and what distinguishes them is the entire decision process.

This is the distinction. The repetitive tasks are automated using AI. The unique value added functions of people remained with the people.

How to decide what stays human

Most people end up calling for help with this because they didn’t think about it. It’s simply a matter of deciding which tool is used for each task and then using some type of “pointer” (or tool) to point it towards the item that is making noise the most that week so, no one intentionally decides when an automation system can and cannot be applied.

AI Automation Decision Table

Source: Institute Of Business AI

Why this is the small business advantage

The data from a large corporation may be the basis of decisions about layoffs. However, in a smaller business, you understand what employee has the key relationship with each client, and whose insight was instrumental in a successful product launch. The data cannot tell you those things.

As I stated previouslt, your team remains your competitive advantage (even though we are seeing the rise of the “one-man” shop) – this week just reinforced that. The corporations that hold on to their human element and eliminate all unnecessary overhead will live longer than those who fire employees for ‘progress’ or the sake of cost savings.

Additionally, many corporations learned this lesson in a painful way. Many let go of employees using AI and later attempted to bring them back into the organization.

What to do this week

Select a position within your organization. Document all of the functions in this role. Identify if each task is a drain (i.e. wastes time/energy) or a value (i.e. generates income). Do so with an honest assessment. Point AI toward the drains. Protect the values. Measure how much returns as a result of using AI during the following months since an AI Return On Investment will only be visible when the return can be measured. Time. Income margin. The ability to execute new work that expands your future workforce.

The disruptors informed you that disruption exists. They were correct. What the disruptors failed to inform you was that you have control over where the disruption impacts your company.