Employers See AI Helping to Reduce New Hires

The Wire: Improved efficiency, higher productivity and automation has many executives thinking about how AI can lower labor costs.

Although the AI world has gone out of its way to convince people that eliminating jobs is not one of its driving forces, more businesses are looking to the technology to do just that.

One reason, said The Wall Street Journal, is the need for businesses to demonstrate their investments in AI will result in some kind of return. A survey by KPMG found more than two-thirds of business leaders report pressure from investors to show how spending money on AI will somehow bolster the bottom line.

Not surprisingly, the technology that promises improved efficiency, higher productivity and powerful automation has many executives thinking about how AI can be used to lower labor costs. Said the Journal: “Wider adoption of a job reduction mindset could have ripple effects across the economy and exacerbate unemployment for white-collar workers, which has been highest in tech, law and media.”