AI isn't coming for your job, it's coming for your justification

"Over the past two years, we've seen a wave of layoffs often attributed to "AI replacing humans." Among widely discussed cases, IBM openly stated that over 7,000 back-office roles may no longer need to be hired because AI can absorb the work. Many other tech players, including Microsoft, Amazon, and HP, have cut between 6,000 and 200,000 employees as a shift toward AI-driven initiatives."

"Taking a closer look, it becomes evident that in many examples like these, people weren't displaced because AI was smarter or outperformed people. They were displaced because one (or more) of the following reasons: AI made it obvious that the output didn't require so many layers of coordination. The work didn't materially change outcomes. The role existed mainly because systems were manual and fragmented."

"From this perspective, it becomes evident: AI isn't coming for roles, it's here to remove low-leverage work. Roles that exist mainly to handle volume or work around broken systems no longer make sense once those problems disappear. This is already playing out across teams. For example: In operations, AI-powered tools (Celonis, UiPath Process Mining, ServiceNow AI Ops, Signavio, etc.) tackle which work reduces cycle time and cost. In marketing, AI-driven attribution tools (HubSpot, Adobe Sensei, Marketo, etc.) show which campaigns truly drive revenue."

Numerous layoffs attributed to AI, including IBM's note about over 7,000 back‑office roles and tech firms cutting thousands to hundreds of thousands of employees, reflect organizational restructuring in value creation rather than AI simply outperforming humans. Displacement often occurs because AI reveals that outputs require fewer coordination layers, the work does not materially change outcomes, or roles exist only due to manual and fragmented systems. AI thus eliminates low‑leverage work and reduces the need for roles that exist to handle volume or compensate for broken systems. AI‑driven tools are already identifying and automating such work across operations, marketing, and finance.

Read at TNW | Future-Of-Work