'There's no evidence that jobs go away, but there is a lot of evidence that as soon as you can dismantle full-time employment, companies will do that.' 'There's no evidence that jobs go away, but there is a lot of evidence that as soon as you can dismantle full-time employment, companies will do that.' Gig workers are endlessly exploited. As companies integrate AI and hire fewer employees, a shift toward a'gig economy' will commence The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.

Large Language Model (LLM)-based multi-agent systems show promise for automating real-world tasks but struggle to transfer across domains due to their domain-specific nature. Current approaches face two critical shortcomings: they require complete architectural redesign and full retraining of all components when applied to new domains. We introduce WORKFORCE, a hierarchical multi-agent framework that decouples strategic planning from specialized execution through a modular architecture comprising: (i) a domain-agnostic Planner for task decomposition, (ii) a Coordinator for subtask management, and (iii) specialized Workers with domain-specific tool-calling capabilities.

To optimize AI's potential within a hybrid workforce, leaders need to adapt workplace strategies--re-evaluating roles, skills, and culture. As adoption of AI agents looks set to surge by as much as 300% in the next two years, leadership teams are carefully considering the implications of a hybrid human-AI workforce. Unlike existing enterprise-level automation that relies on manual input, AI agents are capable of autonomously coordinating complex tasks, interacting with multiple tools and environments across an organization. In early applications that center on customer service, HR, and sales, adoption of agentic AI has led to productivity gains of 30-50% . Their autonomy positions agents more as collaborators than tools, working side-by-side with human employees in blended teams that look poised to upend traditional workplace dynamics. More than three-quarters of HR leaders believe that the deployment of AI agents will transform existing workplace norms, driving a complete reappraisal of how roles and responsibilities are distributed, how skills are prioritized, and how workplace culture is shaped.

A panel of executives spoke at the TIME100 AI Leadership Forum on Wednesday night in New York City about the ways artificial intelligence is reshaping the business landscape, and how they're shepherding their companies into a technologically capricious future. Included on the panel at the TIME forum, which spotlighted AI-driven business leadership, were Nigel Vaz, the chief executive officer of Publicis Sapient, a tech-consulting firm that uses AI to help modernize business and a sponsor of Wednesday's event; Deepa Soni, the executive vice president and chief information officer of New York Life Insurance Company; and Ravi Radhakrishnan, the executive vice president and chief information officer of American Express. Vaz began the conversation discussing the "exponential" capability of AI to transform and enhance companies' abilities to problem solve and become more efficient. For his company, AI is a tool used to extract value and optimize performance for clients by reducing time and cost. Many of them, he notes, must bridge the gap between their relatively outdated technology and increasingly more useful AI tools--what he referred to as their "tech debt."

Staff at WiseTech have been waiting months to be told if they are among the employees the company is to cut due to advances in AI. Staff at WiseTech have been waiting months to be told if they are among the employees the company is to cut due to advances in AI. WiseTech begins redundancies - but omits'AI' from emails to Chinese employees, workers say WiseTech has begun informing staff that they will lose their jobs as part of redundancies the company has said is due to artificial intelligence advancements - although an email to staff in China omitted the word "AI" after a court case against another company in the country. Staff at WiseTech have been waiting almost three months to be told if they are among the 2,000 people the logistics software company is to cut due to advances in AI. The Australian Stock Exchange-listed company announced in late February it would lay off almost 30% of its 7,000-strong workforce across 40 countries.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed by students as he spoke about the rise of artificial intelligence during his speech at University of Arizona's graduation ceremony, underscoring growing anxiety over AI's impact on jobs. I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you, Schmidt told graduates as jeers rang out at the venue during remarks comparing today's AI boom to the rise of computers four decades ago. The reaction reflects a broader unease on campuses, where speakers who mention AI are increasingly being met with hostility from students. A recent poll suggests many students view AI as both a threat to their future and an obstacle to their intellectual development.

Like clockwork each May, soon-to-be college graduates drift into New York City's Washington Square Park in caps and gowns, typically in purple, the school colour of nearby New York University. A sea of mostly 20-somethings gather for photographs that mark the moment when the predictability of collegiate life comes to a close and new graduates face the uncertainty of what's next. Julie Patel, who just finished a master's degree in public health, was one of those graduates. But a tight job market has dampened the joy of the graduation ceremony. Like millions of her peers around the country, she is headed into a precarious job market amid a surge in economic uncertainty driven by a range of reasons, including tariffs, the proliferation of artificial intelligence, global conflicts and, in her case, government funding cuts in her industry, slowing hiring, especially of new graduates.

Some critics say the increasing use of AI could result in'asynchronous, agent-driven management'. Some critics say the increasing use of AI could result in'asynchronous, agent-driven management'. 'I didn't want to be the guinea pig': inside tech's AI-fueled manager purge As tech companies pour billions into artificial intelligence bets and slash their workforces, middle managers are squarely in the crosshairs. A trend is emerging: when tech CEOs announce that AI is making it possible to do more with fewer workers, they promise to flatten their structures by cutting away what they call unnecessary management layers and bureaucracy. Just last week, the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase laid off 14% of its workforce while gesturing to the thrill of AI-fueled, minimal-management efficiency.

Next week, Meta is cutting about 10 percent of its staff. WIRED spoke with more than a dozen current and former employees about what it's like inside a company where everyone is unhappy. As Meta employees brace for layoffs next Wednesday, May 20, many say the vibes are horrifically, historically low. "Everyone is unhappy; the only people who are not unhappy are, literally, executives," says an employee who works on Instagram. The social media giant plans to cut about 10 percent of its workforce, or nearly 8,000 people, "to run the company more efficiently" and "offset the other investments" it's making, according to a human resources leader .

'There is no guaranteed outcome with any job,' said Shola West, 25, a media consultant. Working for yourself at least allows you some control over your fate. 'There is no guaranteed outcome with any job,' said Shola West, 25, a media consultant. Working for yourself at least allows you some control over your fate. Facing AI and a tough job market, gen Z turns to entrepreneurship: 'I have to prove myself' When Ashley Terrell graduated from the University of Hawaii in 2024, she planned to find a job in marketing, maybe for a tech company.