When will AI significantly impact knowledge workers?

Significant impacts on knowledge workers are anticipated within a couple of years.

Which companies are affected by AI's impact on hiring?

Companies like Atlassian have paused hiring in swathes of engineering and related roles, and Telstra is undergoing an AI-first overhaul.

What types of jobs might be eliminated by AI?

Customer support staff are cited as an example of a role that could become totally gone due to AI.

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AI Reshapes Workforce: Jobs Vanish in Years

17 Feb

Summary

Knowledge worker roles face significant impacts within two years.
Atlassian freezes hiring in some departments due to AI and market jitters.
Telstra restructures roles, expecting a smaller workforce by 2030.

AI Reshapes Workforce: Jobs Vanish in Years

The landscape for knowledge workers is set to transform rapidly, with significant impacts anticipated within the next two years. Artificial intelligence is already prompting companies to reconsider their staffing strategies. Atlassian, a major software firm, has temporarily halted recruitment for many engineering and related positions. This decision stems from a combination of a challenging tech market and growing investor concerns surrounding AI.

Internally, Atlassian has communicated this as a strategic pause to prioritize critical functions, including AI development and customer-facing roles, rather than a complete cessation of growth. Publicly, the company maintains that the hiring freeze is not a direct result of replacing human employees with AI. However, this occurs as Atlassian increasingly highlights its own AI features in product pitches.

Meanwhile, telecommunications company Telstra is executing a large-scale AI-driven restructuring. This initiative is expected to eliminate up to 650 positions, with some roles being moved to India as part of a substantial AI and data partnership. Telstra asserts that these roles are being restructured, not directly replaced by AI. Nevertheless, the company forecasts a reduced overall workforce by 2030 due to increased automation.

Experts predict widespread job displacement, with OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman suggesting that "entire classes" of jobs, such as customer support, could become obsolete due to AI advancements.

Disclaimer: This story has been auto-aggregated and auto-summarised by a computer program. This story has not been edited or created by the Feedzop team.