Will AI cut millions of jobs? Will Google, Alphabet sack workers or hire more people? Sundar Pichai says...

Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) cut jobs in a large number across all sectors? Will it act as an accelerator, creating more jobs at least in the beginning? Will AI's development be like that of computers decades ago when it created new genres of jobs rather than wiping out hundreds of thousands of opportunities? As AI is expanding, more and more companies are adopting the latest technology with hundreds of startups getting registered almost every day, these questions have become significant. 

What did Sundar Pichai say?

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has answered these questions. Talking to Bloomberg in San Francisco Thursday, he expressed hope that Google would grow from the current engineering phase into the next one. He rejected the growing concern that Artificial Intelligence could eventually make a large number of Google’s 1,80,000 employees redundant. The Alphabet chief said that AI will not replace people, it will empower them. 

(Sundar Pichai, CEO, Alphabet)

Will Google lay off more people?

Described the technology as an "accelerator", Pichai said that AI helps engineers work more efficiently by removing repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus on more important problems. He expressed hope that instead of cutting jobs at Google, the increased productivity could lead to more hiring as it will push to develop new products. Google has witnessed several rounds of layoffs in the recent past and it can not be ruled out in the near future as well. The Internet giant served pink pay slips to more than 12,000 workers in 2023 and at least 1,000 more last year. However, fewer than 100 roles in the cloud team and a few hundred more in the devices unit were abolished.

Sundar Pichai: AI could lead to more jobs 

Sundar Pichai acknowledged the concerns expressed by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei that AI could gobble up half of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years. He said, "I respect that … I think it’s important to voice those concerns and debate them." Expressing hope that the impact of AI will have on Alphabet's workers, he said that the technology could free them from dull admin work to tackle more creative tasks.