Large Study Finds That Replacing Workers With AI Is Backfiring Badly

"The first takeaway is that the trend is real, with a total of 80 percent admitted to trimming their human staff to make investments in AI or autonomous technology. But they say they had no idea if AI would actually generate any benefits - they were simply buying into the promise of automation via AI."

"The Gartner survey found that execs who slashed staff to invest in AI have seen the same financial gains as those who held onto their employees. In othe words, attempting to replace workers with AI isn't showing any detectable returns for these companies. And to make matters worse, many of these businesses specifically reduced their headcount to free up the cash needed for AI technology, meaning they sacrificed valuable institutional knowledge and employee goodwill for nothing."

"The findings aren't entirely surprising. An MIT study last year found that AI is failing to generate meaningful revenue growth at the vast majority of companies that embrace it."

"Gartner analyst Helen Poitevin told Fortune that these seemingly drastic moves by execs may simply be attempts to trial AI, not tostructurally reset the whole company. "It seems to us to be a kind of one-time ex"

AI adoption is raising workplace concerns as major companies replace workers with technology. A Gartner survey of 350 global executives from firms earning at least $1 billion found that 80% trimmed human staff to invest in AI or autonomous technology. Executives expected automation benefits but did not know whether AI would deliver. Companies that reduced headcount to fund AI have seen the same financial gains as those that retained employees. The results suggest replacing workers with AI is not producing measurable returns. Some firms also cut jobs to free cash, sacrificing institutional knowledge and employee goodwill. Other research has found AI often fails to drive meaningful revenue growth.

Read at Futurism