Under a new policy at DraftKings, he added, “you can’t hire anybody next year unless you’ve already proven you can’t do the same job with an AI agent.”
Robins and other CEOs in tech, finance, and other sectors have increasingly been asked about cost-cutting and AI, a hot topic ever since Marc Benioff, leader of California software giant Salesforce, said in September that he had eliminated 4,000 jobs thanks to AI.
Neither Robins nor other local executives have revealed specific plans to cut jobs. But AI apps that can answer customer questions, assemble documents, and handle other repetitive tasks already have the potential to replace workers.
In the tech industry, AI coding assistants can reduce the need for programmers. A programmer can ask an AI assistant to write code that might have required several people in the past, though it must be checked by a veteran programmer. A recent study from Stanford University found signs of reduced hiring for entry-level software jobs that could be related to AI.
Some 78 percent of businesses reported using AI in at least one business function, according to a McKinsey survey released in March. And a survey by Resume.com of 1,000 employers found 37 percent said they planned to replace workers with AI next year.
Tech companies have been leaders in adding AI capabilities in many areas, said Brady Lewis, senior director of AI innovation at consulting firm Marketri.
“It’s very, very significantly impacting the tech industry,” Lewis said. But not all of the efforts will succeed, he added: “Some of it’s working, some of it’s not.”
At American Well, based in Boston, chief financial officer Mark Hirschhorn seems to be an AI believer.
The online health company this year has cut about 350 jobs, or 35 percent of its workforce, Hirschhorn said at a conference hosted by Morgan Stanley. “We’re investing significantly in AI … to replace what we have or the cost structure,” Hirschhorn said.
“We have been an innovation shop for many years, but that innovation was at the cost of several hundred individuals,” he said. “And when we started this year, we had over 1,000 employees. We’re currently at about 650. We continue to see areas of opportunity in limiting that cost structure.”
Hirschhorn declined to be interviewed. But in a statement to the Globe, he said American Well is training workers to use AI and trying to increase productivity: “We are looking at how AI can allow us to continue gaining efficiencies, do more with less, reduce costs, and ultimately create the best experience for all stakeholders.”
Meanwhile, at Boston software firm PTC’s customer support unit, AI has been “of benefit in terms of cost avoidance,” chief executive Neil Barua said at a Citigroup conference. “But we’ve got more work to do before we say that this is the lever that’s going to create huge cost savings for the company.”
Asked for further comment, PTC, a design software firm that employs more than 7,000 people at offices around the world, including in its Seaport headquarters, said it is using AI in many departments.
“We believe AI will fundamentally transform how work gets done, and we’re optimistic about its long-term impact on employee productivity, cost savings, and decision-making,” a spokesperson said.
Tripadvisor in Needham, which employed about 1,000 people in the United States at the end of last year after multiple rounds of layoffs, is also looking at AI for cost savings, CEO Matthew Goldberg said at a Goldman Sachs event.
“This is the first year where we’ll go in to make AI efficiency and advantage as part of our annual planning,” Goldberg said. “It’s what everybody is doing.” (The company did not respond to a request for comment.)
And Cambridge internet company Akamai Technologies is running about 50 internal AI experiments to see if the technology can improve efficiency or generate other benefits, chief HR officer Anthony Williams said in an interview. The firm, which helps internet sites and streaming services distribute content, employed almost 5,000 people in the US and close to 6,000 abroad at the end of last year.
Akamai’s developers are using AI to speed up writing software for customers, for example, Williams said. The goal is to teach employees how best to use AI, rather than replacing workers, he said.
“We believe AI can and will enhance our products and the capability of our people,” he said. “We’re fully embracing the movement.”
At DraftKings, cofounder and president Paul Liberman said jobs supplanted by AI would allow the company to expand positions in other areas.
“We’re not sitting there saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to go and get rid of jobs,’” Liberman said in an interview. “Quite the opposite. We’re saying, ‘How do we leverage this technology to make our teams much more efficient?’”
The company has used AI to cut costs by generating video footage needed to tailor ads for different cities, for example, Liberman said.
“Some things that used to take weeks or months today can be done in minutes or hours,” he said.
DraftKings is also looking for new employees with more familiarity with the newest AI apps, Liberman said.
“It doesn’t get rid of the need for new folks out of school,” he said. “It really just changes the requirements by which we select our talent.”
Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman.
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