AI layoffs or ‘AI-washing’? | TechCrunch

How many of the companies with recent layoffs are really adapting their workforce to the efficiencies and challenges of artificial intelligence? And how many of them were just using AI as an excuse to cover up other problems?

That is the question asked by an article from the New York Times on the trend of ‘AI washing’, where companies will cite AI as a reason for layoffs that may actually be caused by other factors, such as over-recruiting during the pandemic.

AI was the cited reason for more than 50,000 layoffs by 2025, with Amazon and Pinterest among the tech companies blaming technology for recent budget cuts.

But a Forrester report published in January argued: “Many companies announcing AI-related layoffs do not have mature, vetted AI applications ready to fill those roles, highlighting a trend of ‘AI washing’ – attributing financially motivated cuts to future AI implementation.”

Molly Kinder, a senior research fellow at the Brookings Institute, noted that saying layoffs are due to AI is a “very investor-friendly message,” especially when the alternative could mean admitting, “The business is doing poorly.”