Are machines replacing humans? According to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, it's a yes.
The tech giant's CEO said the company won't need as many humans in the future, which raised some eyebrows.
“My message to CEOs right now is that we are the last generation to manage only humans,” Benioff said Wednesday on Salesforce’s earnings call.
Salesforce became one of the Bay Area's largest and most valuable companies thanks to "human labor." Now, it sells AI agents, among other things.
And as Benioff addressed shareholders on Wednesday, he made it clear that artificial intelligence is on the rise.
"It is so important to have that human touch," said Benjamin Harvey, CEO of AI Squared.
Harvey said it takes two humans and machines to satisfy customers nowadays.
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"After they close the deals, they're saying, OK, from a customer success perspective, here's a specific area, a certain use case, that we can apply the fully autonomous AI ability to, to drive efficiency as well," he said.
Ann Skeet, senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center, said Benioffs comments on AI have a tangible impact on his employees.
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"I think it's unfortunate that he refers to these AI agents as 'digital workers,' for example, I think anthropomorphizing technology really loses sight of the value that human beings bring to the workforce," Skeet said.
