Many CEOs Believe Technology Will Make People Largely Irrelevant (betanews.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report on BetaNews:Although artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and other emerging technologies may reshape the world as we know it, a new global study has revealed that the many CEOs now value technology over people when it comes to the future of their businesses. The study was conducted by the Los Angeles-based management consultant firm Korn Ferry that interviewed 800 business leaders across a variety of multi-million and multi-billion dollar global organizations. The firm says that 44 percent of the CEOs surveyed agreed that robotics, automation and AI would reshape the future of many work places by making people "largely irrelevant." The global managing director of solutions at Korn Ferry Jean-Marc Laouchez explains why many CEOs have adopted this controversial mindset, saying: "Leaders may be facing what experts call a tangibility bias. Facing uncertainty, they are putting priority in their thinking, planning and execution on the tangible -- what they can see, touch and measure, such as technology instruments."

Comments

Better be ready to be beat up when layed off worke

[Joe_Dragon]

Better be ready to be beat up when layed off workers find out it's better to be in lock up then out on the street.

"people largely irrelevant"

[sehlat]

I'll ask this question, which has come up before: If nobody has a job, then where the [bad language redacted] will they find CUSTOMERS?

Who do they think is going to buy their products?

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously, if people are "irrelevant" so are your people centric businesses! Robots don't need Tide detergent, Kellogs corn flakes, Michael Bay movies, or Samsung TV's. Who the hell do they think their customers are going to be and with what money do they imagine these customers will be buying their stuff?

Does not compute

[codeButcher]

If AI makes people obsolete, who will those companies peddle their wares to, and obtain income from? The Martians?

Re:Does not compute

[ClickOnThis]

If AI makes people obsolete, who will those companies peddle their wares to, and obtain income from? The Martians?

Let's be optimistic for a second. If robots and AI take over more and more of the jobs that humans used to do, then the products those jobs produce will decrease in price. Perhaps they'll decrease to the point where they cost little or nothing. And then we may be in a Star Trek TNG society where money doesn't exist, because duh, nobody needs to buy anything.

I admit the above may be unlikely. But for discussion, consider it as a possibility.

Re:Better be ready to be beat up when layed off wo

[sonnejw0]

Better be ready to be beat up when layed off workers find out it's better to be in lock up then out on the street.

This is why the principle of automation and machine intelligence goes hand in hand with the concept of the Universal Basic Income and free education. So we can create an educated workforce, and those who cannot work have a strong societal safety net that's easy to administrate.

Re: Better be ready to be beat up when layed off w

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's the problem . . . . these CEOs who are so in love with A.I./ Robotics are slowly putting themselves out of business.

Once you've eliminated all the workers, and nobody has a job any more (no job = no money), who exactly is going to buy your company's products? Have you considered what happens when 90% of your customers no longer have any money?

And if you think Universal Basic Income is the answer, where do think that money is going to come from? From the businesses and the wealthy? The same people who do everything they can to hide their money and avoid paying taxes? Good luck with that.

Re:Better be ready to be beat up when layed off wo

[GLMDesigns]

You and I may be happy with this. But a lot of people will not. People need a sense of purpose; a desire to be needed; to be valuable. Some may find value in free time to pursue artistic endeavors; many will not.

Re:Enjoy your mass insurrection/civil war, CEOs.

[GameboyRMH]

If you believe UBI won't work then the remaining options are:

1. A luddite economy that prohibits certain forms of automation
2. Killbot-powered genocide of the working class

I assume you're thinking #1?

Re:Better be ready to be beat up when layed off wo

[OrangeTide]

Software able to make rational business decisions based on compiling numerous sources of data seems exactly like the sort of thing we'd want instead of a CEO.

Re:Better be ready to be beat up when layed off wo

[jeff4747]

Basic Income is a horrible idea, that is doomed for all the reasons people don't want to think about.

People do not peacefully starve to death.

If we're going to continue to tie "not starving to death" to employment, we're going to need to do something when employment is no longer possible.

Basic income is one way of dealing with that. Feel free to propose a better one.

Re:Better be ready to be beat up when layed off wo

[ancientt]

I certainly don't think I'd be useless without my current job. I love baking, drawing, painting, hiking, camping, fishing, kite flying, movies, tv shows, books, hanging out with friends, learning new skills and programming. I don't get paid for most of those and the one I do get paid for is only fun about a third of the time. Given my current level of comfort, I'd love to spend an extra thirty hours a week on more of those other things.

Take away any single one of those things I enjoy and I'll spend more time on the others. Heck, take all of them away and I'm confident I'd find new hobbies. Woodworking looks interesting.