According to IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, white-collar jobs will be among the first to be impacted by artificial intelligence (AI). In an exclusive interview with CNBC, Krishna stated that generative AI and large language models have the potential to enhance productivity in every enterprise process. He explained that this increased productivity means achieving the same level of work with fewer people, particularly in back-office, white-collar roles. Krishna further emphasized that a decline in the working-age population necessitates improved productivity to ensure a high quality of life, making AI the solution. Companies are increasingly investing in AI-powered chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, and IBM was an early mover in the AI space, developing its own platform, including the supercomputer Watson. Furthermore, IBM recently launched WatsonX, an AI building tool for clients to create and deploy machine learning models. However, IBM plans to pause hiring for certain roles that could be replaced with AI, amounting to approximately 7, 800 jobs.

Krishna clarified that AI is meant to augment human labor, not replace it, and believes that AI will actually generate more jobs than it replaces. Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong shares a similar viewpoint, stating that AI may disrupt the labor market but will not eliminate jobs entirely. Krishna's emphasis on AI and hybrid cloud aligns with his role as CEO, with a focus on these technologies for the future. AI's significance in IT operations, automation, customer service, and HR augmentation was highlighted during IBM's second-quarter earnings call. Data and AI products were the fastest-growing segment of IBM's software business during this period. Krishna also noted the efficiency of large-language models, which require minimal human intervention and significantly reduce costs. This development has prompted confidence in commercializing and adapting AI for various tasks.