Blue Planet Studio - stock.adobe
Fearing AI replacement? Here's what IT leaders think
AI is increasing demand for tech talent, not replacing it. IT leaders discuss reskilling, role evolution and new opportunities created alongside automation.
Worried that AI might put you out of a job? Not so fast.
As AI lowers the cost and effort required to produce technology, overall demand for technology roles increases. In fact, 40% of IT leaders plan to increase IT head count in 2027 -- especially in the areas of cybersecurity, data and analytics, according to Gartner's 2027 CIO and Technology Executive Agenda survey.
"The majority of IT jobs will need some significant role reskilling," said Alicia Mullery, vice president and analyst at Gartner, during a session at the Gartner IT Symposium in Orlando. "Leading the way is software engineering, and data and analytics."
Here is what some IT leaders had to say about the subject.
Are you worried the automation technology you buy now will come after your job or team at some point in the future?
"No. I worry more about whether we are driving the outcomes our business needs. Then, I worry about how I am helping my team continue to evolve and build the right skills so they continue to drive value for our organization in the future. I worry much more about those things versus individual solutions or technologies displacing people."
Ryan Downing, CIO of enterprise business solutions at Principal Financial Group
"I guess I still tell myself that there is this human-in-the-lead notion, where needing someone who can help direct it and guide it and give it some focus makes sense. Give it a little bit of direction. But those days of saying, 'I don't have enough resources to do that,' or, 'We're going to have to wait on that one'? It feels like those will become numbered -- which could mean you don't need as many people, or the way you can use them is different."
Ben Schein, vice president of AI and business transformation for Progress Software
"What happens when you get into a pool of water? Or with a container, if you put your hand in it, water gets displaced, right? AI is kind of the same thing. … Yes, there will be displacement, but if we're doing this with our eyes and ears open and clarity, then perhaps at the same time we're also creating new opportunities to work in tandem and achieve more with AI. We have to rethink accountability and oversight. Who is this AI accountable to, and how do they check? … We might be decreasing the cost or displacing a role in one way but creating a new role in another."
T.J. Marlin, CEO of Guardrail Technologies
"I don't think so, because I think that the data layer is not going to go away. The product layer, yes, and I can tell already. Today at Coralogix, we build both things. … More than 40% of the sessions that we see are coming from headless MCP and CLI. Meaning, they are not coming into our platform and not using those products. Those agents are creating a lot of data -- and we want them to create it -- but we don't always know what they are doing. We need to be able to always look back and say, 'You know what? That was correct.' I think the companies that look at it in [in the sense of role transformation] will have great chances to grow."
Yoni Farin, CTO of Coralogix
Sarah Amsler is lead editor for editorial's Reader Engagement and Outreach team at TechTarget.
