Automating Tasks Doesn't Equate To Replacing Employees

Too many headlines boast of genAI's ability to replace human beings - as friends, employees, therapists, and more. Too often the origin of the headlines are folks selling "something" and not one who might be replaced. The conversations are reckless and distorted narratives created by marketers and salespeople stoking FOMO. It's a form of professional gaslighting.

On May 6th, 2025 many media outlets ran a piece with a headline essentially quoting IBM's CEO (Arvind Krishna) of stating that "AI has replaced hundreds of employees." Once you read the articles, there are examples of genAI-powered tools automating tasks - not replacing human beings.

Just because you can save 10,000 employees 20 minutes per week doesn't mean you've eliminated 100 employees. I would also ask, "does each of your employees do everything they can to support your business each day, week, and year?" If not, maybe those free minutes could be put to better use.

As a footnote, you may ask, "Was IBM trying to sell something through this narrative?" A Gemini search returned these headlines from May 6, 2025:

Yes, IBM had several press releases on May 6, 2025. Here's a summary of the key announcements:

• IBM Accelerates Enterprise Gen AI Revolution with Hybrid Capabilities: IBM unveiled new hybrid technologies at its annual THINK event, aimed at breaking down barriers to scaling enterprise AI. This includes new agent capabilities in watsonx, webMethods Hybrid Integration, and advancements in watsonx.data and IBM LinuxONE 5.

• Lumen and IBM Collaborate to Unlock Scalable AI for Businesses: Lumen Technologies and IBM announced a collaboration to develop enterprise-grade AI solutions at the edge, integrating IBM watsonx with Lumen's Edge Cloud infrastructure.

• IBM and Oracle Expand Partnership to Advance Agentic AI and Hybrid Cloud: IBM is working with Oracle to bring the power of watsonx to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), aiming to fuel a new era of multi-agentic, AI-driven productivity.   

• AWS and IBM Continue Deep Collaboration to Deliver New Agentic AI Capabilities: IBM and AWS are making it easier for customers to adopt autonomous, reasoning AI agents.

• IBM and Salesforce Activate Enterprise Data on IBM Z, Preview New Agents to Help Customers Unleash Their Data for Agentic AI: IBM and Salesforce are working together to help customers leverage their data on IBM Z mainframes for AI models and agents.   

• IBM Study: CEOs Double Down on AI While Navigating Enterprise Hurdles: A new IBM study found that CEOs are committed to advancing AI solutions but face challenges in technology adoption.

• Governor Healey Advances State's AI Leadership with Major Investments in Massachusetts AI Hub: During IBM's Think 2025 conference in Boston, Massachusetts announced significant investments to grow the state's AI ecosystem, including a partnership with IBM and Red Hat for a startup accelerator.

• Introducing API Agent: Democratizing APIs in an Agentic Era: IBM API Connect announced the new API Agent to accelerate API journeys with greater efficiency using AI.

• IBM CEO: Layoffs Due to AI Led to 'More Investment' in Other Roles: News outlets reported that IBM CEO Arvind Krishna stated that the company's AI investments led to increased hiring in programming and sales roles after some HR positions were replaced by AI.

  
  

These press releases highlight IBM's strong focus on advancing artificial intelligence, forming strategic partnerships, and its annual THINK event.