The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into various industries is a topic of ongoing debate, with some experts predicting widespread job displacement while others argue that AI will augment human capabilities.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has stated that AI will remake every company, including his own. However, this sentiment is not universally shared by all companies. Klarna's CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, has taken a more nuanced approach, citing "natural attrition" as a significant factor in reducing their workforce, rather than solely attributing it to AI adoption.
Klarna continues to hire staff despite partnering with OpenAI and introducing an AI customer service assistant. In fact, the company has discovered that relying heavily on AI is not as effective as expected, with AI chatbots handling two-thirds of customer service conversations within the first month and performing work typically done by 700 employees.
MIT economics professor David Autor shares a similar view, arguing that AI will primarily augment workers rather than replace them. This perspective is reflected in Klarna's decision to put the company on a recruitment drive to add more human staff, after initially freezing hiring in December 2023 and planning to cut the workforce by nearly half.