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Using AI at work is old news. Giving AI \u201cemployees\u201d similar treatment to their human counterparts is the next frontier, according to human resource software company Lattice.<\/p>\n
The tech unicorn\u2014founded by Sam Altman\u2019s brother Jack Altman and valued at $3 billion<\/a> in 2022\u2014announced it \u201cmade history<\/a>\u201d this week by giving so-called \u201cdigital workers\u201d employee records and integrating them into organization charts, allowing its human coworkers to see the roles of AI in their workplace. The change is part of Lattice\u2019s greater effort to integrate AI into the workplace in a \u201cresponsible\u201d way, which ostensibly means treating the technology like a human hiree: training it, onboarding it, andeven assigning it a manager.<\/p>\n \u201cIt takes the idea of an \u2018AI employee\u2019 from concept to reality \u2013 and marks the start of a new journey for Lattice, to lead organizations forward in the responsible hiring of digital workers,\u201d CEO Sarah Franklin said in a LinkedIn post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lattice skyrocketed to success<\/a> thanks to pandemic-era remote work and tight labor that forced companies to confront hiring and employee-support practices that were previously unconventional. But the announcement from the people-focused company struck a nerve with its LinkedIn<\/a> followers, who responded to Franklin\u2019s announcement with shock and concern for the future of AI integration into the workspace.<\/p>\n \u201cThis strategy and messaging misses the mark in a big way, and I say that as someone building an AI company,\u201d Sawyer Middeleer, chief of staff at AI sales platform Aomni, wrote in response to Franklin\u2019s post. \u201cTreating AI agents as employees disrespects the humanity of your real employees. Worse, it implies that you view humans simply as \u2018resources\u2019 to be optimized and measured against machines.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s already mounting anxiety around the role of AI in the workplace, particularly as its use proliferates across industries. A March 2023 Goldman Sachs<\/a> report found AI could replace or degrade up to 300 million jobs<\/a> in the U.S. and Europe, and venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee predicted 50% of human workers<\/a> will be replaced by AI by 2027. The predictions have taken a toll on workers, with one-third of employees<\/a> saying they\u2019re worried about their jobs being replaced by technology, consulting service PWC found in 2022.<\/p>\n Lattice\u2019s own transition to AI may not have assuaged those anxieties. Its announcement about responsibly hiring AI employees comes a year after the company laid off 15% of its staff<\/a>\u2014over 100 workers\u2014in January 2023 amid hiring and spending slowdowns. The company did not respond to Fortune<\/em>\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n The ripple of the AI technology in the workplace is already starting to make waves\u2014though maybe not in the way anxious workers initially anticipated. Amid a strategic shift to invest in generative AI, Intuit<\/a> will lay off 1,800 workers<\/a>\u2014an effort that does not have to do with cutting costs, its CEO said in an internal memo. The financial software company will instead rehire almost the same number of employees who are better suited for the position. About 1,000 of those laid-off employees failed to meet performance expectations.<\/p>\n Tech leaders aren\u2019t convinced these layoffs are a harbinger of a wave of AI taking over jobs: \u201cI talk to a lot of CEOs, and I\u2019ve learned very quickly that they are not thinking of AI replacing us\u2014I can say that with full authority,\u201d Ronnie Sheth, CEO of advisory firm Senen Group, told Fortune<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n While the technology may eventually replace some assembly-line jobs and administrative tasks\u2014which may result in some layoffs\u2014responsibilities like branding and management are not yet under threat. CEOs are more interested in constructing and preserving strong company culture<\/a> than they are with the quantitative benefits AI may provide. Moreover, the addition of AI in workplaces may not mean those employees can\u2019t find meaningful work opportunities elsewhere, Sheth argued.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s a balance between rescaling the labor force and also setting policies in place to ensure that AI is being used for human good,\u201d she said. \u201cand not taking away people\u2019s livelihoods.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWill AI really replace us?<\/strong><\/h2>\n