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Ask HN: When will managers be replaced by AI?

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Re: Ask HN: When will managers be replaced by AI?

#61

Post by GianFabien »

t312227 wrote: post #59

hello, as always: imho. ... idk. ... what do you mean by "managers" in your question!? in my view: the "real" task of mangers - regardless of the level, but even more if they are at a lower/mid level - is managing peoples & their expectations - either of their "team" or their superior. and looking at the current state of "AI", i don't see much gain in using it to manage those part of "management". but i think (curren…

In my experience with medium to global enterprises, the vast majority of management are paper shuffling, fiefdom building incompetents that through their incessant demands of meetings and reports are actually a hindrance to delivering quality products and services on time and budget.

Re: Ask HN: When will managers be replaced by AI?

#62

Post by Gigachad »

oconnore wrote: post #5

No one is being replaced 1:1, but everyone is going to be downsizing (and that’s mostly the same thing). You need a lot fewer managers if your team is 5-20% what it needed to be a few years ago.

More likely we end up just producing more shit with the same number of workers.

Re: Ask HN: When will managers be replaced by AI?

#63

Post by Gigachad »

evdubs wrote: post #17
ListeningPie wrote: post #7

A manager has responsibility for the team, how can an AI be responsible?

A developer has responsibility for their code. How can an AI be responsible? A writer has responsibility for their writing. How can an AI be responsible? AI doesn't need to be responsible. It just needs to provide value, just like writers, developers, managers, etc.

That’s why no one replaced developers with AI that can push its own code to prod.

Re: Ask HN: When will managers be replaced by AI?

#64

Post by palata »

autobodie wrote: post #30
chipuni wrote: post #2

The easiest job to replace must be the CEO. Look at Musk. He's CEO of six companies (or so), yet has time to run DOGE and constantly post on X.

The most fundamental duty of a CEO is to accept responsibility away from the board members, hence the large bonuses when they are let go. By definition, AI cannot do this. End of conversation. Same goes for managers in most cases. Firing people because an AI said to simply won't hold ip in court, at least for now.

> accept responsibility

When was the last time a CEO went to jail because of illegal activities committed by the company? There is no responsibility.

If the "responsibility" is "you become rich, and if you get fired we give you a huge bonus on top", then I'm pretty sure anyone would be happy to take it.

Being a CEO is like being a politician. You need to convince others that they need you even if they don't, or you're incompetent, or you serve other interests. It's not what it takes to "lead a company", it's what it takes to "get the highly-paid job".

Re: Ask HN: When will managers be replaced by AI?

#65

Post by palata »

idkwhattocallme wrote: post #18
Larrikin wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't the board network while having the AI generate the big ideas for the last few workers?

CEO's typically make decisions when there isn't enough data to support the obvious direction. In this way, they are anti-pattern finders that rely on gut or some anecdotal experience. They are most often wrong, but when they are right and it's a success they are considered genius. I'm not sure an AI can make a non-obvious decision based on feeling.

> I'm not sure an AI can make a non-obvious decision based on feeling.

You just described that CEOs are like broken clocks: they are mostly wrong, but sometimes they are right by chance.

How do you conclude that AIs can't do that? If it's about eloquently phrasing a random idea, AIs are perfect.

Re: Ask HN: When will managers be replaced by AI?

#66

Post by palata »

> What is the point of "leadership" when the workers are AI-bots?

This is a weird question. If the team below a manager is replaced by AI, then quite obviously there is nothing else to manage. The real question is: can AI replace the teams?

Then of course, if there is a reduction in workforce, there may be a reduction of the number of teams and hence of the number of managers for those teams.

> competent prompt engineers

Writing prompts is not engineering.

Re: Ask HN: When will managers be replaced by AI?

#67

Post by soco »

palata wrote: post #64
autobodie wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most fundamental duty of a CEO is to accept responsibility away from the board members, hence the large bonuses when they are let go. By definition, AI cannot do this. End of conversation. Same goes for managers in most cases. Firing people because an AI said to simply won't hold ip in court, at least for now.

> accept responsibility When was the last time a CEO went to jail because of illegal activities committed by the company? There is no responsibility. If the "responsibility" is "you become rich, and if you get fired we give you a huge bonus on top", then I'm pretty sure anyone would be happy to take it. Being a CEO is like being a politician. You need to convince others that they need you even if they don't, or you'r…

"some of you might die, but it's a risk I'm willing to take" - CEO handbook quote (only slightly paraphrased). This is all the risk there is for a CEO, change my mind.

Re: Ask HN: When will managers be replaced by AI?

#68

Post by rsynnott »

_fzslm wrote: post #32
singron wrote: post #8

I think you might not get serious responses, but I think this is an interesting question since I think AI is a better fit for management than many other jobs. Nobody would have believed it 10 years ago, but today AI is more likely to replace a concept artist than an accountant, so it's not beyond imagination to replace a manager even if the ICs are still human. AI excels at summarization, which is a big part of the j…

> Nobody would have believed it 10 years ago, but today AI is more likely to replace a concept artist than an accountant Do you really think so? I understand the basic sentiment of your statement but having tried to use AI for concept art, I was very disappointed at its lack of originality. Especially in an inevitably oversaturated market of AI creative work, I see the value of good human conceptual artists only risi…

Sure, it's a terrible concept artist and you shouldn't use it as one. But if you use it as an _accountant_, you're likely to end up in legal trouble, so, all in all, it is probably still a better concept artist than an accountant.

Re: Ask HN: When will managers be replaced by AI?

#69

Post by rsynnott »

zoechi wrote: post #44
autobodie wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a company wants to stay in business, the legal risk of AI bots firing people is probably not worth the cost savings. Until that changes, I don't think there's much to discuss, but that may not be long given the way things are going.

They don't have to admit that the decision was made by AI. One low-wage worker in HR can be the spokesperson who sells it as his decision.

So the thing about people who enforce laws is, they're not _completely_ stupid. Dodgy companies will pretty much always attempt to hide the fact that they're breaking the law; nothing new there.

Re: Ask HN: When will managers be replaced by AI?

#70

Post by marcuschong »

chipuni wrote: post #2

The easiest job to replace must be the CEO. Look at Musk. He's CEO of six companies (or so), yet has time to run DOGE and constantly post on X.

Also, a CEO defines which way the company will go and makes questionable decisions like opting to build a Cybertruck. I don't see AIs doing these type of decisions, which are many, for now.
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