In Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI's keynote speech at the recent Snowflake Summit 2025, he pointed out that an increasing number of companies are starting to view AI agents as frontline employees. Altman mentioned that many employees in these companies have now shifted their focus to assigning tasks to AI agents, evaluating the quality of their results, integrating work content, and providing feedback. This working model is very similar to the way of managing frontline employees.
Image source note: Image generated by AI, image authorized service provider MidJourney
According to a report recently released by the venture capital company SignalFire, the widespread application of AI has significantly impacted frontline positions. The report shows that from 2023 to 2024, the entry-level job recruitment volume for well-known tech companies such as Meta, Microsoft, and Google has dropped by 25%. Asher Bantock, the research director of SignalFire, pointed out that the main reason for the reduction in recruitment is that AI has already taken over many routine tasks handled by frontline employees.
At the same time, McKinsey & Company is also using AI to complete some basic tasks, such as creating PowerPoint presentations and drafting proposals. McKinsey predicts that by 2030, AI could replace up to 375 million jobs. This trend has attracted widespread attention.
Last week, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, also sounded a warning on this issue during an interview with Axios. He stated that AI could potentially eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs within the next 1 to 5 years, which would lead to unemployment rates spiking to 20%. Amodei candidly admitted that although this prediction may sound unbelievable, existing trends cannot be ignored. He called on society to face the workplace transformation brought by AI and prepare in advance.
With the rapid development of AI technology, the future of the workplace is quietly changing. While companies use AI to improve efficiency, they also face the need to adjust employee structure and job allocation. How to adapt to this workplace transformation has become a focal point of concern across various sectors.
Key points:
- 🤖 AI is gradually being viewed by companies as frontline employees, and the focus of employees' work has shifted.
- 📉 Recruitment volume for entry-level positions in tech companies has decreased by 25%, mainly due to AI taking over routine tasks.
- 📊 A large number of entry-level white-collar jobs may be replaced by AI in the future, and unemployment rates may rise to 20%.
