IBM is going to stop hiring humans, as the corporation shifts to automation utilizing artificial intelligence to get the work done. Technology is rapidly replacing the need for human beings, as humanity becomes obsolete.

One month ago, to much dismay and widespread denial, Goldman predicted that AI (artificial intelligence) could lead to some 300 million layoffs among highly paid, non-menial workers in the United States and Europe. Goldman chief economist Jan Hatzius said:  “Using data on occupational tasks in both the US and Europe, we find that roughly two-thirds of current jobs are exposed to some degree of AI automation, and that generative AI could substitute up to one-fourth of current work. Extrapolating our estimates globally suggests that generative AI could expose the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs to automation” as up to “two-thirds of occupations could be partially automated by AI.”

According to a report by ZeroHedge, Goldman’s forecast was met with emotions ranging from incredulity to outright mockery, it may not have been too far off the mark. Consider that just last week, Dropbox said it would lay off 16% of the company, some 500 employees as the company sought to build out its AI division.  In a memo to employees, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston said that “in an ideal world, we’d simply shift people from one team to another. And we’ve done that wherever possible. However, our next stage of growth requires a different mix of skill sets, particularly in AI and early-stage product development. We’ve been bringing in great talent in these areas over the last couple years and we’ll need even more.”

As Bloomberg reports, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said the company expects to pause hiring for any jobs it thinks could be replaced with artificial intelligence/automation in the coming years. As a result, hiring in back-office functions, such as human resources, will be suspended or slowed, Krishna said in an interview. These non-customer-facing roles amount to roughly 26,000 workers, Krishna said. “I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period.” That would mean roughly 7,800 jobs lost.

Governance By Artificial Intelligence: The Ultimate Unaccountable Tyranny

Mundane tasks such as providing employment verification letters or moving employees between departments will likely be fully automated, Krishna said. And while some HR functions, such as evaluating workforce composition and productivity, probably won’t be replaced over the next decade, it is only a matter of time before these roles are also replaced by AI. –ZeroHedge

The other situation that will push automation is the coming recession. Until late 2022, Krishna said he believed the United States could avoid a recession. Now, he sees the potential for a “shallow and short” recession toward the end of this year, although it remains unclear just how one can determine that a recession will be “shallow and short”.

The Fed, BoA, & Corporate CEOs Are All Warning That A Recession Will Happen This Year