Companies fire people who refuse to use AI

Coinbase CEO fires staff who don't use AI. Photo: Los Angeles Times.

In the August 21 episode of the Cheeky Pint podcast, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed that he personally asked the crypto exchange's engineers to use AI to help with programming. Armstrong said he not only encouraged it, but also attached clear consequences to those who hesitated.

According to him, initially, internally it was estimated that it would take 1-2 quarters to reach 50% AI tool adoption. However, Armstrong wanted all programmers in the company to start applying AI to their work immediately.

The CEO said he posted a message on the company’s Slack channel highlighting the importance of AI in improving performance. Armstrong asked engineers to get up to speed with the AI tool within a week, rather than waiting for a longer-term plan.

“If not, I will have a meeting on August 16 with all those who have not done so and I want to meet with them to understand why,” Armstrong said.

When the meeting took place, a small number of employees attended. Armstrong admitted that some had legitimate reasons, such as having just finished a business trip. However, those who could not provide a convincing explanation were dismissed.

Armstrong says the heavy-handed approach is intended to send a clear message that AI is a must-have skill. Coinbase now runs a monthly “AI speedrun” training session led by an employee familiar with the tool. Armstrong’s goal is to have half of the company’s code written with AI by the end of the quarter.

The situation at Coinbase reflects the pressure at many large tech companies, where leaders are demanding that employees use AI to maintain a competitive edge. At Google, CEO Sundar Pichai once emphasized in a company-wide meeting that engineers must use AI to code and improve performance.

A Gallup survey in June found that senior executives use AI more often than lower-level employees. Specifically, 33% of those in executive positions said they use AI a few times a week or more, nearly double the rate of employees in the company.

Coinbase CEO also affirmed that using AI does not mean handing over all the work to machines. “Maybe you can go further with it. You don’t want people to let AI code the transaction processing system. There needs to be manual checks and human involvement,” he said.

Source: https://znews.vn/cong-ty-duoi-nguoi-khong-chiu-dung-ai-post1579159.html