Survey reveals almost half of all managers aim to replace workers with AI, could use it to lower wages

[midian182]

A hot potato: A lot of companies try to assuage fears that employees will lose their jobs to AI by assuring them they'll be working alongside the tech, thereby improving efficiency and making their duties less tedious. That claim feels less convincing in light of a new survey that found 41% of managers said they are hoping to replace workers with cheaper AI tools in 2024.

A report by Beautiful.ai, which makes AI-powered presentation software, surveyed over 3,000 managers about AI tools in the workplace, how they're being implemented, and what impact they believe these technologies will have.

The headline takeaway is that 41% of managers said they are hoping that they can replace employees with cheaper AI tools in 2024. This backs up previous reports that looked at potential jobs losses caused by generative AI, including one from September that predicted the technology would replace over 2 million US jobs by 2030. An earlier study claimed that generative AI could affect 300 million jobs globally.

The rest of the survey's results are just as depressing for worried workers: 48% of managers said their businesses would benefit financially if they could replace a large number of employees with AI tools; 40% said they believe multiple employees could be replaced by AI tools and the team would operate well without them; 45% said they view AI as an opportunity to lower salaries of employees because less human-powered work is needed; and 12% said they are using AI in hopes to downsize and save money on worker salaries.

It's no surprise that 62% of managers said that their employees fear that AI tools will eventually cost them their jobs. Furthermore, 66% of managers said their employees fear that AI tools will make them less valuable at work in 2024.

But it's not just workers who feel like they are under threat from AI. Half of all the managers surveyed – 90% of whom say they are already using AI to increase productivity – said they are worried that AI tools will result in lower pay for those in management positions, while 64% said they believe AI's output and productivity are equal to or better than experienced human managers. Moreover, just under half of the participants think AI tools will fuel wage declines across the country.

We've seen huge numbers of layoffs in the tech industry since the start of 2023, and while a lot of that was due to overhiring during the pandemic and the shaky economy, some companies have admitted that the adoption of generative AI played a big part. A lot of firms are jumping on this generative AI bandwagon: 66% of those surveyed said they're using these tools to either enhance worker productivity or improve efficiency.

Despite the results, Beautiful.ai still pushes the "collaborative" angle in its report, but then it is a company that makes a generative AI product. It writes that of those who incorporated AI in the workplace, 60% foresee AI tools replacing elements of their job functions in a positive and productive, rather than threatening, way. The report also notes that the number of managers looking to replace employees with AI has "significantly" reduced since 2023, so that's at least some good news, right?

Masthead: Pixabay

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/102385-survey-reveals-almost-half-all-managers-aim-replace.html

 

[Uncle Al]

Great idea! Fewer workers means fewer income tax dollars and fewer dollars spent on everything else .... and little to nothing contributed to election campaigns ..... yep, this is going to solve a lot of things ....... (sic)

 

[winjer]

These managers don't even realize they will be next up.

 

[Dimitriid]

That's a good argument to why we need to get rid of most middle managers and even most managers instead: Anybody on the executive level looking at long term viability would probably know that AI isn't a sure bet and it's just not there to replace even basic data entry jobs 100% (Though it could replace most of those) And they would also have enough foresight to see that if they don't have in-house AI models they can run which is an insane cost right now will be left with an equally insane bill once most of the business transitions to AI and companies like Microsoft actually want to make a profit from their AI tools and charge exorbitant new deals.

Like if you run the entire company you can see that even if your current payroll is say, 1 billion a year right now does it makes sense to replace most of it with AI? What if Microsoft decides to eventually bump up the operating costs of AI from a couple hundred thousand to 1.3 or 1.4 billion? That's far beyond inflation. What if I run AI myself? Well you'll probably have to come up with entire data centers, teams of data scientists to develop and train the models and it might take years if you don't take anything from Microsoft or other AI vendors so a hell of a lot than 1 billion for sure.

The issue is that executives also make demands our of their managers and since they managers are not interested in the bigger picture and just want to deliver, they'll just think it's a cost-saving measure and nuke the payroll to go 'Well, we reduced our operating costs by 600k per year boss!' and be done with it.

It's why most companies would actually benefit in terms of being competitive from being vertically integrated all the way through: No manager culture every employee a member of the board. It's just that you'd have to redistribute all of the profits vertically as well and we can't have that, gotta think of the billionaires!

 

[trparky]

Great... let's put everyone out of work! No silly paychecks to give out, no silly expenses to deal with. Oh crap, why isn't anyone buying anything?

Oops.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

This comes as a shock to absolutely no one that has been paying attention.

 

[RudyBob]

It's time to look for work that has some meaning. If you can be replaced by a videocard that does not speak well of your past decisions. Make some hard choices.

 

[TomSEA]

A survey from a company that makes AI powered presentation software? Sure - that's legit.

 

[n3o127]

Oh the day when a Walmart Robot greets me and says, welcome to Walmart, now get your crap and get out human.

 

[waclark]

It's time to look for work that has some meaning. If you can be replaced by a videocard that does not speak well of your past decisions. Make some hard choices.

^^ this is what I've said for a while now. Certain work will be replaced by robots or AI or whatever (like cheaper alternatives offshore). If you want to make money you need skills. You don't need to be a surgeon or rocket scientist, but you can't just be some guy that shuffles paper all day long.

 

[ragreeen2646]

When will people rise up and say to corporate entities we have had enough.

 

[veLa]

We're never getting to Star Trek’s ideal future.

 

[themastergoose]

It's time to look for work that has some meaning. If you can be replaced by a videocard that does not speak well of your past decisions. Make some hard choices.

Silly me for going to university, obtaining a degree in software development, working in said field for the last 14 years since graduating... Only to now find obtaining new contract work almost impossible because:

1) A.I. will do most of the code writing with alarming accuracy
2) I am too old and expensive

The alarming frequency of hiring managers in the past 12 months opting to replace a role I would have done with a combination of A.I. and a semi-skilled junior who would happily work for considerably less than I would expect is worrying.

For anyone asking, I am currently working in a coffee shop to cover the basic bills.

 

[waclark]

When will people rise up and say to corporate entities we have had enough.

You're free to start your own business any time.

 

[waclark]

Silly me for going to university, obtaining a degree in software development, working in said field for the last 14 years since graduating... Only to now find obtaining new contract work almost impossible because:

1) A.I. will do most of the code writing with alarming accuracy
2) I am too old and expensive

The alarming frequency of hiring managers in the past 12 months opting to replace a role I would have done with a combination of A.I. and a semi-skilled junior who would happily work for considerably less than I would expect is worrying.

For anyone asking, I am currently working in a coffee shop to cover the basic bills.

Software development has been moving "offshore" for some years and that has nothing to do with AI. It has to do with cost. Also, I don't think age has anything to do with your situation. Generally, no one puts their age on a resume, and you don't necessarily have to include all years of experience, only the most recent.

Now, if you're asking for a high wage, that is very likely the main issue. It's not that you don't deserve higher pay or that you haven't earned it, but companies do like to control costs. Just like you and I when we price check Best Buy against Amazon to see who has the cheapest price.

What I am curious about is why you're working on a coffee shop instead of taking lower pay as a developer? Again, don't know your country, but in the US, it is very likely that getting a job with a corporation as a SW developer would be better just in terms of benefits (vacation, matching contributions to retirement, health insurance etc) than working in a coffee shop (except maybe for Starbucks, maybe). In lieu of that, you might consider a job as a bartender. They can make good money, in some cases as much if not more than a SW developer and they hardly ever get laid off.

 

[RudyBob]

Silly me for going to university, obtaining a degree in software development, working in said field for the last 14 years since graduating... Only to now find obtaining new contract work almost impossible because:

1) A.I. will do most of the code writing with alarming accuracy
2) I am too old and expensive

The alarming frequency of hiring managers in the past 12 months opting to replace a role I would have done with a combination of A.I. and a semi-skilled junior who would happily work for considerably less than I would expect is worrying.

For anyone asking, I am currently working in a coffee shop to cover the basic bills.

When you start the blame game it has no end whether it is justified or not. It's what you do now that counts. The past fourteen years are over. The world changes and you must as well. You got a degree and made it work. You can figure out what to do next

 

[Kam7r]

Oh what a surprise ... LOL

 

[themastergoose]

Software development has been moving "offshore" for some years and that has nothing to do with AI. It has to do with cost. Also, I don't think age has anything to do with your situation. Generally, no one puts their age on a resume, and you don't necessarily have to include all years of experience, only the most recent.

Now, if you're asking for a high wage, that is very likely the main issue. It's not that you don't deserve higher pay or that you haven't earned it, but companies do like to control costs. Just like you and I when we price check Best Buy against Amazon to see who has the cheapest price.

What I am curious about is why you're working on a coffee shop instead of taking lower pay as a developer? Again, don't know your country, but in the US, it is very likely that getting a job with a corporation as a SW developer would be better just in terms of benefits (vacation, matching contributions to retirement, health insurance etc) than working in a coffee shop (except maybe for Starbucks, maybe). In lieu of that, you might consider a job as a bartender. They can make good money, in some cases as much if not more than a SW developer and they hardly ever get laid off.

I am in England, and I think (personally) our economy is doing a little worse than most of our European buddies. I say that in response to the question you posed about why I am working in a coffee shop? It's very simple: It pays more

I've done countless work for corporations and freelance over the years. I am not old (late 30's) and have enjoyed some very good levels of salary and benefits over the years. I have the entire time always been aware of, and had to compete with to some extent, the offshore market - Especially where freelance work was concerned. I was often at an overheads disadvantage simply being resident in England in many cases, but I still won some work.

The last 2 years it has become harder and harder, with that salary ceiling dropping hard and fast because software developers seem to be taking what ever is largely offered just to stay in the industry I think - I too did think about dropping pay 66% just to stay in the industry full time. The emergence of AI has definitely play a part here as it can remove a large chunk of the "skill" and time needed in writing code to begin with (for most tasks anyway), so there's less jobs available. As there's an imbalance of qualified people to do the jobs willing to drop pay, companies have less incentive to also offer high pay now.

So thats how I at least arrived at this juncture. I earn £29,800 a year making coffee for Costa Coffee (For this sites American readers, they are a UK competitor to Starbucks in terms of scale and popularity) - I went in at management grade due to past large team management experience. I keep an eye still on IT work, but there's too many companies offering full time roles for software work in my City wanting what I consider the moon on a stick (Full-stack C# and Vb.Net) with experience of agile development, lifecycle management and QA etc - Salary offer is £22,500 - £24,000 typically. I would be saying for fully qualified (and actually competent) it should be a little over double that.

I have had a few interviews and while nobody has outright called me old at my age (remember, I am still in my 30's), one recruiter did regard my skills as "legacy" as development is and always has been largely Windows centric for me - Either Desktop or Windows Server. I should appeal to corporations who move slower and have larger more complex systems, but nobody's biting quite the same way they used to.

I've always keep my skills up top date. I was the last of a generation to finish University before the smartphone explosion happened so we never learn how to make phone apps. I of course learn this later on, as well as several other languages and also become fully proficient in Linux server management as well as Windows Servers.

Maybe it will improve when bean counting hiring managers realise a machine can't quite build a software solution from scratch like I could do. Until then, would you like a flat white with a splash of vanilla..?

 

[daffy duck]

Let's here how the billionaire scumbags like Huang, Musk, Satella, Fcukerberg, Altman etc spin this in light of their "AI will do wonders for humanity and it won't mean job losses" BS they promote.

 

[holydiver]

That's a good argument to why we need to get rid of most middle managers and even most managers instead: Anybody on the executive level looking at long term viability would probably know that AI isn't a sure bet and it's just not there to replace even basic data entry jobs 100% (Though it could replace most of those) And they would also have enough foresight to see that if they don't have in-house AI models they can run which is an insane cost right now will be left with an equally insane bill once most of the business transitions to AI and companies like Microsoft actually want to make a profit from their AI tools and charge exorbitant new deals.

Like if you run the entire company you can see that even if your current payroll is say, 1 billion a year right now does it makes sense to replace most of it with AI? What if Microsoft decides to eventually bump up the operating costs of AI from a couple hundred thousand to 1.3 or 1.4 billion? That's far beyond inflation. What if I run AI myself? Well you'll probably have to come up with entire data centers, teams of data scientists to develop and train the models and it might take years if you don't take anything from Microsoft or other AI vendors so a hell of a lot than 1 billion for sure.

The issue is that executives also make demands our of their managers and since they managers are not interested in the bigger picture and just want to deliver, they'll just think it's a cost-saving measure and nuke the payroll to go 'Well, we reduced our operating costs by 600k per year boss!' and be done with it.

It's why most companies would actually benefit in terms of being competitive from being vertically integrated all the way through: No manager culture every employee a member of the board. It's just that you'd have to redistribute all of the profits vertically as well and we can't have that, gotta think of the billionaires!

If every employee is a member of the board you will have chaos and dysfunctionality for almost every business decision going forward. Want to purchase another company? uh, gotta ask thousands of employees. It works for smaller companies but here we are talking about multi-billion dollar corporations.
I will just conclude that you have never worked in the management of a company or anywhere near a large corporation.

 

[James Ryan]

I am in England, and I think (personally) our economy is doing a little worse than most of our European buddies. I say that in response to the question you posed about why I am working in a coffee shop? It's very simple: It pays more

I've done countless work for corporations and freelance over the years. I am not old (late 30's) and have enjoyed some very good levels of salary and benefits over the years. I have the entire time always been aware of, and had to compete with to some extent, the offshore market - Especially where freelance work was concerned. I was often at an overheads disadvantage simply being resident in England in many cases, but I still won some work.

The last 2 years it has become harder and harder, with that salary ceiling dropping hard and fast because software developers seem to be taking what ever is largely offered just to stay in the industry I think - I too did think about dropping pay 66% just to stay in the industry full time. The emergence of AI has definitely play a part here as it can remove a large chunk of the "skill" and time needed in writing code to begin with (for most tasks anyway), so there's less jobs available. As there's an imbalance of qualified people to do the jobs willing to drop pay, companies have less incentive to also offer high pay now.

So thats how I at least arrived at this juncture. I earn £29,800 a year making coffee for Costa Coffee (For this sites American readers, they are a UK competitor to Starbucks in terms of scale and popularity) - I went in at management grade due to past large team management experience. I keep an eye still on IT work, but there's too many companies offering full time roles for software work in my City wanting what I consider the moon on a stick (Full-stack C# and Vb.Net) with experience of agile development, lifecycle management and QA etc - Salary offer is £22,500 - £24,000 typically. I would be saying for fully qualified (and actually competent) it should be a little over double that.

I have had a few interviews and while nobody has outright called me old at my age (remember, I am still in my 30's), one recruiter did regard my skills as "legacy" as development is and always has been largely Windows centric for me - Either Desktop or Windows Server. I should appeal to corporations who move slower and have larger more complex systems, but nobody's biting quite the same way they used to.

I've always keep my skills up top date. I was the last of a generation to finish University before the smartphone explosion happened so we never learn how to make phone apps. I of course learn this later on, as well as several other languages and also become fully proficient in Linux server management as well as Windows Servers.

Maybe it will improve when bean counting hiring managers realise a machine can't quite build a software solution from scratch like I could do. Until then, would you like a flat white with a splash of vanilla..?

Well shared!
A lot of people haven't clued in yet but it's coming and going to come hard for just about any job that has a computer attached to it.

 

[AdamNovagen]

I am in England, and I think (personally) our economy is doing a little worse than most of our European buddies. I say that in response to the question you posed about why I am working in a coffee shop? It's very simple: It pays more

I've done countless work for corporations and freelance over the years. I am not old (late 30's) and have enjoyed some very good levels of salary and benefits over the years. I have the entire time always been aware of, and had to compete with to some extent, the offshore market - Especially where freelance work was concerned. I was often at an overheads disadvantage simply being resident in England in many cases, but I still won some work.

The last 2 years it has become harder and harder, with that salary ceiling dropping hard and fast because software developers seem to be taking what ever is largely offered just to stay in the industry I think - I too did think about dropping pay 66% just to stay in the industry full time. The emergence of AI has definitely play a part here as it can remove a large chunk of the "skill" and time needed in writing code to begin with (for most tasks anyway), so there's less jobs available. As there's an imbalance of qualified people to do the jobs willing to drop pay, companies have less incentive to also offer high pay now.

So thats how I at least arrived at this juncture. I earn £29,800 a year making coffee for Costa Coffee (For this sites American readers, they are a UK competitor to Starbucks in terms of scale and popularity) - I went in at management grade due to past large team management experience. I keep an eye still on IT work, but there's too many companies offering full time roles for software work in my City wanting what I consider the moon on a stick (Full-stack C# and Vb.Net) with experience of agile development, lifecycle management and QA etc - Salary offer is £22,500 - £24,000 typically. I would be saying for fully qualified (and actually competent) it should be a little over double that.

I have had a few interviews and while nobody has outright called me old at my age (remember, I am still in my 30's), one recruiter did regard my skills as "legacy" as development is and always has been largely Windows centric for me - Either Desktop or Windows Server. I should appeal to corporations who move slower and have larger more complex systems, but nobody's biting quite the same way they used to.

I've always keep my skills up top date. I was the last of a generation to finish University before the smartphone explosion happened so we never learn how to make phone apps. I of course learn this later on, as well as several other languages and also become fully proficient in Linux server management as well as Windows Servers.

Maybe it will improve when bean counting hiring managers realise a machine can't quite build a software solution from scratch like I could do. Until then, would you like a flat white with a splash of vanilla..?

The most important part of this reply, too, is that you answer the profoundly stupid argument of "maybe you're asking too much, why aren't you taking the role for less pay?????????????" Because every time someone DOES take the role for less pay, it lowers the bar and pay average for that role. The more people do that, the worse the job offering gets until it's simply not worth taking except in desperation, hence why you can now earn more at a coffee shop than as a software developer. None of that was your fault, it's just part of the constant slow march to the bottom.

 

[Endymio]

...why aren't you taking the role for less pay?????????????" Because every time someone DOES take the role for less pay, it lowers the bar and pay average for that role. The more people do that, the worse the job offering gets ... it's just part of the constant slow march to the bottom.

That 'constant slow march to the bottom' is counterbalanced by a constant slow march to the top, as hiring managers react to unfilled positions by offering ever-greater salaries.

When you understand how these two factors continually interact, you'll have rediscovered the law of supply and demand, and why free-floating prices for all goods and services -- including labor -- are so vitally important to a healthy economy.

 

[BogdanR]

I am in England, and I think (personally) our economy is doing a little worse than most of our European buddies. I say that in response to the question you posed about why I am working in a coffee shop? It's very simple: It pays more

I've done countless work for corporations and freelance over the years. I am not old (late 30's) and have enjoyed some very good levels of salary and benefits over the years. I have the entire time always been aware of, and had to compete with to some extent, the offshore market - Especially where freelance work was concerned. I was often at an overheads disadvantage simply being resident in England in many cases, but I still won some work.

The last 2 years it has become harder and harder, with that salary ceiling dropping hard and fast because software developers seem to be taking what ever is largely offered just to stay in the industry I think - I too did think about dropping pay 66% just to stay in the industry full time. The emergence of AI has definitely play a part here as it can remove a large chunk of the "skill" and time needed in writing code to begin with (for most tasks anyway), so there's less jobs available. As there's an imbalance of qualified people to do the jobs willing to drop pay, companies have less incentive to also offer high pay now.

So thats how I at least arrived at this juncture. I earn £29,800 a year making coffee for Costa Coffee (For this sites American readers, they are a UK competitor to Starbucks in terms of scale and popularity) - I went in at management grade due to past large team management experience. I keep an eye still on IT work, but there's too many companies offering full time roles for software work in my City wanting what I consider the moon on a stick (Full-stack C# and Vb.Net) with experience of agile development, lifecycle management and QA etc - Salary offer is £22,500 - £24,000 typically. I would be saying for fully qualified (and actually competent) it should be a little over double that.

I have had a few interviews and while nobody has outright called me old at my age (remember, I am still in my 30's), one recruiter did regard my skills as "legacy" as development is and always has been largely Windows centric for me - Either Desktop or Windows Server. I should appeal to corporations who move slower and have larger more complex systems, but nobody's biting quite the same way they used to.

I've always keep my skills up top date. I was the last of a generation to finish University before the smartphone explosion happened so we never learn how to make phone apps. I of course learn this later on, as well as several other languages and also become fully proficient in Linux server management as well as Windows Servers.

Maybe it will improve when bean counting hiring managers realise a machine can't quite build a software solution from scratch like I could do. Until then, would you like a flat white with a splash of vanilla..?

Excellent post, thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[BogdanR]

Well shared!
A lot of people haven't clued in yet but it's coming and going to come hard for just about any job that has a computer attached to it.

Not every job, I think. Mine for instance, as a mechanical engineer is a little harder to be replaced by AI. At least for the time being. We can still be replaced by cheaper overseas engineers though. It was attempted at my company but it was quickly shut down because the company’s IP proved impossible to protect in all those cheap overseas places.

I’m curious how the economy will evolve when unemployment is 30-40%. Economy has gone down on much lower numbers.