Google’s AI model has advanced so rapidly that it has reportedly considered revamping its internal operational structure and downsizing its workforce.
According to a recent report by The Information, the tech giant is setting up to potentially fire around 30,000 employees, a move that would attract significant attention, scrutiny and criticism if it ever came to pass.
This significant shift is due to Google’s increasing reliance on AI. Their AI-powered ads have grown so self-sufficient that they no longer require as many people to oversee its functioning and operate it accordingly. Thus, their decision could affect the 30,000 people working in the ad sales unit.
Notably, Google has already laid of 12,000 employees earlier this here, which was 6% of the company’s total workforce. In an interview conducted with the Business Insider, CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized the necessity of this layoff but also admitted that the company did not handle the job cuts as well as they should have. If The Information’s report is accurate, it would mean an even more considerable shift in their internal workforce.
Google’s experimentation with AI extends beyond ad sales and also encompasses customer support service, which may lead to a further diminishment in human intervention in those tasks.
The Information’s report highlights one of the most potentially destabilizing effects of AI which experts have been emphasizing for over a year: mass layoffs and takeovers as companies rely more on artificial intelligence and less on human capabilities. While many believed this problem would be relevant a few years from now, we are already starting to see its consequences as more and more companies begin to invest heavily in AI. This could have disastrous effects for employment worldwide.
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