PwC Boss Says Gen Z Can Avoid Being Replaced by AI by Coming to Work—Here's Why

Kevin Ellis, the chair of PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) U.K.—a British account giant—said that if younger employees want to avoid getting replaced by artificial intelligence, then they should start coming to their offices.

What Ellis said could anger or disappoint Millenials and Gen Z staff, especially since many younger employees now prefer to have jobs that offer WFH (work-from-home) setups.

PwC Boss Says Gen Z Employees Can Avoid Being Replaced by AI by Coming To Office—Here's Why — (Photo: JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images)
*A visitor watches an AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign on an animated screen at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona.*

But, Kevin Ellis explained why younger staff should start going to offices again if they don't want AI to replace them. Here's what the PwC boss explained.

PwC Boss Explains How Gen Z Staff Can Prevent AI From Replacing Them

The PwC boss explained that new AI models are starting to replace tasks that junior staff usually do. Before artificial intelligence became a big thing in the business industry, new employees were trained to do tasks that AIs are now doing.

Since many companies are already relying on artificial intelligence to complete tasks that were supposed to be done by junior staff, Kevin Ellis suggested that younger employees should start coming to offices to get quicker promotions.

He claimed that making efforts to work and engage at offices will help them retain their jobs and avoid getting replaced by AIs.

"It's a lot more face-to-face time being important and a lot more developing," said the PwC boss via Financial Review.

"So you have to get people in the office more working together," he added.

For some people, AI doing the work tasks that were supposed to be for junior staff may seem like a negative trend.

However, Kevin Ellis explained that the arrival of artificial intelligence also benefits Gen Z and Millenial employees since AIs can make their career paths faster by doing those tasks for junior workers.

But, in order to have a faster and more effective career path at your work, Ellis said that you need to be more engaging by going to your office four or five times a week.

"If you're asking me my opinion on how you succeed in your career, I'd be in the office four to five days a week," he added.

Over 25% of CEOs Believe AI Will Lead To More Layoffs

According to Coin Telegraph, PricewaterhouseCoopers surveyed to see how many CEOs think that AI will lead to more layoffs.

Unfortunately, over 25% of chief executive officers who participated in the poll said that they would lay off at least 5% of their workers to give way to generative AI.

PwC's survey, which was published on Jan. 15, asked over 4,700 CEOs from more than 100 countries; half of these CEOs generate over $100 million in yearly revenue.

32% of these CEOs said that the integration of generative AI can lead to 5% workforce layoffs in 2024 in the media and entertainment industry.

Aside from them, here are other top industries they think would be affected by the arrival of advanced generative AI models:

Banking and Capital Markets: 28%
Insurance: 28%
Transportation and Logistics: 25%
Global: 25%
Telecommunications: 25%
Business Services: 25%

Of course, all these details are just predictions and expectations. It is still up to you as one of the younger employees if you want to take Kevin Ellis' advice and go to your office five times a week.