CIO Companies are increasingly cautious about hiring, but predictions that the rise of generative AI will have a rapid effect on employment may have been exaggerated.
While nearly three-quarters of tech leaders have deployed generative AI, there’s no evidence it’s replacing workers — at least not yet, according to a survey from recruiter Nash Squared. The study found that 72% of tech leaders have deployed generative AI to at least some employees, and one in five are deploying it company-wide.
The deployment of AI has been facilitated by the relative simplicity and low costs of Generative AI productivity tools. Nash Squared said that, much like the growth of cloud computing 10 years ago, much of deployment took place behind the scenes, with users acquiring tools outside of IT oversight.
The survey cites a technology leader who says this is part of the reason his company has deployed generative technologies. AI tools The aim was “to prevent people from doing it themselves and to put in place proper governance”.
The survey reveals that almost half (42%) of companies now have a generative AI policy in place – up from 21% in November last year – and a similar number are considering one soon in place.
However, Nash Squared cautioned that for many businesses, it was a “modernization” after deploying or adopting generative AI.
“Organizations that have a policy are just as likely to be concerned about AI misuse as those that do not, suggesting that the policy has limited effect,” the report said.
Despite rapid deployment of AI, the actual use cases and benefits remain mixed, the report says, with 39% of those who have deployed generative AI reporting little or no impact on their organization. Only one in ten people reported a role change, and only 1% saw their job replaced.
AI, however, creates at least one personnel change, with the appointment of AI Directors (CAIO). One in twenty organizations already have one, and a similar proportion are considering appointing one. However, for the majority of organizations, AI strategy remains the responsibility of various senior technology leaders, the CIO or CTO.
Bev White, CEO of Nash Squared, said the report shows that early warnings of widespread job losses from generative AI have not yet materialized. This process will be gradual, he added.
“Even though GenAI’s impact on job replacement grabs headlines, our discussions with technology leaders have a sense that its impact will be evolutionary rather than revolutionary,” he said. “As organizations evolve and grow, AI will be integrated into operations and structure; its impact occurs little by little.
Tech hiring outlook remains bleak
However, if AI does not currently have an impact on employment, the hiring outlook is far from rosy. The survey found that 43% of IT leaders said they expected their overall technology budget to increase next year.
This may seem positive, but it is lower than the years 2021 to 2023, where the expected increases were larger.
More worryingly for IT workers, tech managers are less likely than ever to expect to hire more staff. Only 36% of executives say they expect their technology headcount to increase over the next year (53% say it will stay the same and 11% expect a decrease).
As Nash Squared pointed out, this figure is not only lower than its last report (36% vs. 50%), but it’s the lowest since it began measuring this factor.
“Even though technology investments appear to remain stable, digital leaders are looking to increase the impact of technology through the technology itself (e.g. using AI for technological purposes). code development and customer support) and are currently cautious about adding people,” the report said.
He quotes a survey respondent who said: “We want to increase our impact, not our numbers.”
Additionally, organizations that implement generative AI enterprise-wide are actually more likely to increase their technology workforce over the next year than average (43% vs. 36%), which which further complicates the relationship between AI and employment.
Two-thirds of digital leaders said the economy was holding them back, at least to some extent; On the positive side, many believed the economy would return to “normal” in six to nine months.
“For many digital leaders, the advent of GenAI marks a useful ‘pivot’ to refresh their digital strategies – and budgets – as they look to the future,” the report said.
