Can we stop talking about replacing workers with AI?

An online retailer recently underwent an AI transformation when it realized it now not needed to rent expensive local labor for customer support. They split customer support between AI bots, which acted as a first-level support, and an offshore team to which the AI ​​could escalate calls, acting as a second-level support. Operating costs plummeted, but so did the quality of service and sales.

This is just one example of the buzziest conversation in every boardroom, event, and sales conference. More than anything, executives need to know when they will finally replace employees who require advantages, vacations, mental health programs, promotions, and profession development with an army of AI bots. And we have to talk about it.

The chopping block includes roles like customer support, developers, copywriters and content creators, marketing managers, forklift operators, drivers and more. The latest edition to this extinction list is at least CEO, says . But I’m not so anxious about that, because we, the CEOs, are still the ones deciding who AI will replace.

Let’s expand, not replace

On behalf of all CEOs, I acknowledge that 75 to 90% of our day by day work is fully automated by AI. Any task that involves gathering information, analyzing it, and recommending decisions to maximise outcomes, AI can do higher than a human CEO. Then there is the remaining 10 to 25%, and this is crucial and unique to who a CEO is as a leader. It includes empathy, accountability, vision, and inspiration, to call a few.

I would love to spend more time on this, 10-25%, and less on every part else. If I have any time left, I might gladly spend it appreciating my workplace and team much more.

As a software engineer, I have my day-to-day tasks divided up. I have little doubt that the majority other jobs—apart from a few awful ones that shouldn’t exist—do as well. Most workers will surely appreciate more time spent on creative and human tasks, more flexibility, and more free time. That’s exactly what we need AI for, not to switch us.

Here are 3 actions CEOs and organizational leaders should take as an alternative of replacing employees with AI.

Reduce your workload and workweeks

Burnout only worsens, lowering productivity and increasing turnover. AI increases workforce efficiency by giving employees hours in the day. Reduce each worker’s workload and give them time in the week to enhance their lives and loyalty to your organization, without sacrificing productivity.

This will be achieved by prioritizing the use of co-pilot-style AI tools—those who increase worker productivity but don’t attempt to take over entirely. Resist the temptation to switch even junior workers with tools like the much-touted Devin, the world’s first fully autonomous AI software engineer. Without a supply of junior workers, you’ll never have truly competent senior workers.

Refocusing on responsibilities

As AI takes over the monotonous, repetitive tasks, your team will have more room for creative, human work. Change organizational structures and job descriptions to make room for strategic, relationship-oriented work that AI simply can’t do in addition to humans. With fewer to-dos on employees’ lists, leaders and managers can focus on difficult and developing them in other, more priceless areas, like building relationships and interpersonal skills.

AI may also help here, too, but not in the way you may think. Rather than replacing humans, it could unlock insights (from data that the majority firms already have) that result in hiring and nurturing the right people for the job. Software used to discover vital interpersonal skills that result in success in specific roles will be incredibly priceless to each employers and employees. Ultimately, improving job satisfaction will boost morale and the bottom line—a win-win situation.

Keep your salary competitive

Reducing workload and maintaining or even increasing pay sounds paradoxical. And while software improvements can and should result in operational savings, they shouldn’t come at the expense of your team. Using AI to benchmark salaries across your organization will be used to uncover trends to create more competitive compensation packages for your employees. Combined with manageable workloads and more free time, you’ll see improved time to rent, quality of hire, productivity, and efficiency.

Pay will at all times be a big a part of worker compensation, but firms should consider the less tangible compensation aspects that result in happier people and higher retention than simply money alone. Some of those key intangibles include flexibility, autonomy, and a healthy work environment. Of course, this relies on who you select to rent. As long as they are humans and not bots, using AI to leverage soft skills will create a higher team and overall work culture.

What’s next?

Is using AI to enhance quite than replace workers too lofty a goal? Or are corporations focused on shareholder value unable to afford it because they will likely be penalized by the stock market for not being aggressive enough in resource optimization? This will likely be a market impetus.

But here’s one of the few facets of being a CEO that AI can’t replace: leadership. A superb leader knows that for any organization to survive, you’ll be able to’t replace humans. Instead, AI should help make employees exponentially more priceless to their firms by spending more time on creative productivity, and firms turn into more priceless to their employees by improving their lives.

Given that some CEOs are driven solely by the stock market (and yes, they will easily get replaced by AI), I don’t expect this approach to be widely adopted. Capitalism isn’t known for prioritizing improving the lives of anyone aside from its shareholders. This is where government must step in and give us clear guidelines on how AI should and shouldn’t be used to enhance lives.

The race to switch human workers with AI must end. Instead, we should discuss how AI can increase employee productivity and improve their lives.