Don't Treat People as Consumables in the AI Era
DavidLinthicum · x · 2026-07-16
The author argues that while AI transformation is inevitable, companies shouldn't treat employees and customers as "interchangeable commodities."
They point out that many companies, fueled by the AI narrative, are frequently laying off staff, over-automating customer service, and viewing employees as disposable assets. However, when the labor market eventually shifts back in favor of job seekers, these actions will backfire. The organizations that will truly win in the next phase aren't those that squeeze efficiency to the absolute limit, but those that maintain empathy, respect their employees, and treat customers well even in uncertain times.
More from AGI Musings
- CS professor: don't hide your AI use from future employers, lead with it — lemire · 2026-10-26
- Engineer: AI-cheap engineering will change which manufacturing jobs get a yes — burhop · 2026-10-26
- FixItBench: the joke benchmark where robot-agent teams race to repair electron microscopes — teortaxesTex · 2026-10-26
- Instructor advice: record and save all your teaching materials for future AI use — prof_g · 2026-10-26
- Jason Furman: Building Econvitals pre-AI would need ~50 people, 3 years, $20M — HarrySurden · 2026-10-26
- Dune's 1960s Warning on Handing Thinking to Machines Resurfaces in AI Debate — umeshonai · 2026-10-26