Alphabet: More Engineers Despite AI
Source: pymnts.com
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company intends to keep hiring engineers in the coming year, even with its artificial intelligence (AI) investments.
Pichai told Bloomberg Wednesday (June 4) at the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco that he anticipates growth from their current engineering base because it will allow them to capitalize on opportunities. He added that he views AI as a way to make engineers more productive by eliminating mundane tasks.
Pichai noted that while AI is good at coding, it still makes basic mistakes.
Reports in July indicated that AI was contributing to tech sector job cuts, with some companies using AI bots to replace employees or hiring new employees with AI expertise.
In January 2023, Alphabet announced it was cutting 12,000 jobs (6% of its workforce) due to facing a different economic reality and focusing on AI. In January 2024, Pichai said employees could expect more job cuts as the company worked on simplifying execution in some areas.
The PYMNTS Intelligence report “GenAI: A Generational Look at AI Usage and Attitudes” revealed that 54% of workers in the United States think that generative AI poses a significant risk of widespread job displacement. The report also found that 74% of frequent generative AI users and 27% of those unfamiliar with specific platforms believe the technology could replace parts of their jobs, particularly in the technology sector.
During a May 8 Senate hearing on AI, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, when asked about his view that up to 70% of jobs could be eliminated by AI, stated that technological revolutions have long impacted jobs and the economy, with some jobs disappearing and new ones being created. He added that many jobs become more efficient, enabling people to do more, earn more, and create more.
It was reported Wednesday (June 4) that Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said that while Klarna had made fewer job cuts in engineering positions than in other roles, that trend could change because businesspeople, including himself, are learning to code, in his case with the help of ChatGPT.