AI bets and payroll cuts: is the productivity promise real?

Meta and Microsoft joined a wave of large-scale tech layoffs (about 8,000 roles, roughly 10% at Meta) even as they pour money into artificial intelligence, a trend echoed by peers like Atlassian, Block and Oracle. The Conversation frames AI in three ways—as emergent superintelligence, as hype (“AI washing”), and as a practical productivity tool—arguing the real impact will hinge on whether companies retrain and redesign workflows to harness AI or simply trim payroll for stock-market optics. The key takeaway is that AI’s effect on knowledge work is likely mixed and evolving; watch hiring and skills shifts to see whether AI delivers real productivity gains or just cost savings.