Futurist Michael Chong believes that American companies could soon start appointing artificial intelligence to senior positions in their structures, up to co-CEO. Humans will remain in charge, but executives could be forced to consult with AI.
Futurist Michael Chong believes that American companies could soon start appointing artificial intelligence to senior positions in their structures, up to co-CEO. Humans will remain in charge, but executives could be forced to consult with AI.
Chong believes this process could be driven by competition and investor pressure for efficiency. He told Business Insider that he believes AI’s involvement in decision-making, forecasting, and risk modeling is «inevitable.»
«If you don’t have an AI as co-CEO, you will be seen as corporately incompetent in how you run your business,» predicts Michael Chong.
Many executives are already using artificial intelligence. However, the futurist predicts that soon they will not just ask ChatGPT about strategy. One of the results of the emergence of AI in management will be tireless managers who can send emails at any time and constantly interfere in the company’s activities.
Chong said examples of company executives handing over some responsibilities to AI indicate that more CEOs may become accustomed to digital assistants that hold the same positions and never take a vacation.
Previously, Klarna CEO Sebastian Semiatkowski said that AI could do his job. And Mechanize co-founder and CEO Tamay Besiroglu said that he wants to use AI to automate all positions, including his own.
«The inevitable conclusion that everyone will come to is, ‘Hey, your co-CEO is already doing a great job of optimizing your profits. Why shouldn’t he run the whole company?’» says Michael Chong.
He believes it will only be a matter of time before AI can take on managerial roles. He notes that one of the most pressing concerns is what happens if an AI CEO makes a mistake. Chong believes this will make bots more like humans and says a human co-CEO should take on the role that AI cannot.
«I would give him the unofficial title of ‘chief empathy officer,’ because that’s something AI can’t do. AI, for its part, could work to optimize a company’s operations and take on the ‘hard tasks’ that even CEOs might not like to do,» says Chong.
He saved the main argument for why AI can succeed in management for last: cheapness. «A CEO with artificial intelligence does not require a salary of $29 billion,» the futurologist pointed out.
Tesla Inc. has offered a new compensation deal for its CEO Elon Musk, which could be worth a record $1 trillion, but Musk must meet a number of milestones to receive it.
