> Companies deny they're doing this, of course. Take Microsoft, for example. CEO Satya Nadella claims AI tools like GitHub Copilot now write up to 30 percent of Microsoft’s software code. Simultaneously, Microsoft has laid off over 15,000 people, nearly 7% of its workforce. Coincidence? I think not.
This is why we need the discipline of history. People's memories are nonexistent.
The world hasn't stood still during the past few years! During the pandemic, the tech companies went on a hiring binge for demand that didn't materialize. Then interest rates skyrocketed as the Fed buckled down to fight inflation. Then Elon Musk bought Twitter and laid off 80% of the staff without the service collapsing, showing twitchy tech executives that their companies could get by with less. There were also massive tax code changes, only very recently reversed, that further encouraged less headcount.
We've had so many headwinds against tech employment completely unrelated to AI. Big companies have been responding, but they don't move fast, so they likely still haven't done everything they want to do.
AI is just a convenient excuse, and it's amazing how well it's worked on so many people!
This is why we need the discipline of history. People's memories are nonexistent.
The world hasn't stood still during the past few years! During the pandemic, the tech companies went on a hiring binge for demand that didn't materialize. Then interest rates skyrocketed as the Fed buckled down to fight inflation. Then Elon Musk bought Twitter and laid off 80% of the staff without the service collapsing, showing twitchy tech executives that their companies could get by with less. There were also massive tax code changes, only very recently reversed, that further encouraged less headcount.
We've had so many headwinds against tech employment completely unrelated to AI. Big companies have been responding, but they don't move fast, so they likely still haven't done everything they want to do.
AI is just a convenient excuse, and it's amazing how well it's worked on so many people!