AI is also making CEO tremble: after a year without hiring, Siemiatkowski, head of Klarna, fears for his job.
Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said he hasn’t hired anyone in the past year because of the company’s adoption of artificial intelligence . Klarna’s employment has fallen by roughly 22% during the last year. Yet the company’s worth has climbed to more than $14 billion.
Klarna, a fintech company that offers “buy now, pay later” services for e-commerce, has integrated OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Claiming that its AI assistant can do the work of “700 full-time agents.” However, this seemingly superhuman productivity could have serious consequences for the job security of virtually everyone in the company, including the CEO himself.
Experts have long warned that AI-powered automation could make not only low-level jobs redundant. But also high-level management positions. Siemiatkowski himself admitted. My job is a super important part of who I am, and to realize that it might become unnecessary is grim.”
And maybe there’s a good reason to be afraid: Researchers have already studied the possibility that CEOs could become an endangered species in the age of AI. Anant Agarwal, previous director of MIT’s Computer Science and AI Lab. Explained the New York Times that “ 80% of the tasks a CEO performs can be overtaken by artificial intelligence.”
Siemiatkowski stated that approximately 200 Klarna workers are currently employing AI for their primary tasks. The CEO is encouraging this trend, while also promising higher compensation: “ We will give part of the efficiency gains provided by AI by increasing the pace at which our employees’ salaries grow.”
While AI is rapidly integrating into the workforce . It remains to be seen what the long-term impact on employment and management will be. For now, the debate about the potential and limitations of AI in replacing human labor remains open.https://youtube.com/shorts/paJgOmPtQ5I?si=r9eRLEiAMWKCA0wA