As Bengaluru-based startup Dukaan replaces 90% of its employees with AI, which are the jobs most vulnerable to AI in next 5 years?

Citing better efficiency, quick results, and cost-cutting as major advantages offered by AI, the CEO of Dukaan, Suumit Shah, justified his action of replacing 90% of the support team with an AI chatbot. However, the decision of the e-commerce startup has drawn sharp reactions on Twitter and stirred a debate over AI threat to jobs.

It is possible that in the coming years, AI can replace most jobs in almost many sectors.

In yet another example of how artificial Intelligence is taking a toll on employment opportunities, a Bengaluru-based e-commerce startup, Dukaan, has laid off at least 90 per cent of its support team because of Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot.

Citing efficiency, quick results, and cost-cutting as major advantages offered by AI, the CEO of Dukaan, Suumit Shah, justified his action on Twitter, by saying that the action was tough but necessary.

Explaining his decision and attributing it to prioritising profitability over becoming a "unicorn" startup, Shah mentioned that the company’s customer support executives were overqualified and lacked enthusiasm as they found the work monotonous. Further, sharing the performance report of the employees, Shah said that his employees took 2 hours and 13 minutes on an average to solve a problem, while the AI chatbot gets the same job done in less than 2 minutes, and customer support costs were also reduced by 85 per cent.

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"We had to lay off 90 percent of our support team because of this chatbot. Tough? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely," he tweeted.

We had to layoff 90% of our support team because of this AI chatbot.

Tough? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely.

The results?

Time to first response went from 1m 44s to INSTANT!
Resolution time went from 2h 13m to 3m 12s
Customer support costs reduced by ~85%

Here's how's we did it _

— Suumit Shah (@suumitshah) July 10, 2023

Dukaan's mass layoffs draw sharp criticism

The young entrepreneur's mass layoff decision led to outrage on Twitter, as many criticised him for being insensitive towards his employees. One Twitter user questioned the efficiency of chatbot, asking, "Can chatbots truly replace humans for customer support? I think human interaction for solving queries is what most people find suitable."

A second user said, "Your chatbot cannot account for a simple thing, which is human emotion.”

"Chatbots are worth the hype. But they do not solve real problems and leave customers frustrated," read a third comment highlighting the shortcomings of AI.

Launching a sharp attack, another user commented, "What sort of heartless tweet is this? I wouldn't recommend anyone to work for MyDukaan."

What sort of heartless tweet is this? I wouldn't recommend anyone to work for this MyDukaan

— Somesh Maurya (@MauryaSomesh) July 11, 2023

Also, you just removed the layer that would enable you to talk to the user and understand user needs to improve product and processes. And you are celebrating that?!

— Abhi Watpade (@AbhiWatpade) July 11, 2023

After a series of tweets, Dukaan's CEO also announced new vacancies in other teams. The company said that it is hiring for several other roles in AI, e-commerce, and product design.

"We're hiring for multiple roles at Dukaan. If you're passionate about AI, E-commerce, or product design and want to be part of the unfuckwithable team, you know how to reach out to us," Shah tweeted.

This, however, isn't the first incident where a company has fired its employees to replace workers with AI. In May this year, US-based companies announced a record more than 80,000 job cuts, of which nearly 4,000 were due to AI’s conventional performance in the tech sector.

Major jobs that are vulnerable to AI in next 5 years

Despite the fact that AI is one of the great innovations for assisting humans, it is rapidly replacing employees in the corporate sector. Given the pace of its adaptation, it is possible that in the coming years, AI can replace most jobs in almost many sectors.

Some of the big sectors that are most vulnerable to AI are as follows:

1. Banking and Finance: Considering the fact that banks have already started to incorporate AI into their functioning, the innovative chatbot can soon replace most of human work, right from wealth management to investments.

2. Media and Marketing: AI is also slowly replacing humans at different levels in the media and marketing industries, with data entry, content writing, and other similar jobs facing maximum impact. For instance, by using AI platforms like Quillbot and ChatGPT, companies are getting all their written tasks done.

3. Legal sector: The adoption of AI technology could pose a threat to jobs in the field of law. Review and analysis of documents for contracts and legal research are already widely being done with AI assistance in the legal sector.

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