Council Post: Automate The Task, Keep The Talent: Reinvesting The Time AI Gives Back

A CEO of creative and digital-product agency Fantasy argues that companies should treat time saved by AI as a staffing strategy decision, not just a cost-cutting opportunity. Firdosh Tangri says there are two broad approaches: retrain people for more human, harder work, or freeze hiring and let attrition shrink teams. He notes that while many firms use AI for current tasks, fewer move employees into entirely new roles. Citing a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey, he says 61% of service firms in the New York and Northern New Jersey region use AI, and just over a third retrain workers. He highlights IKEA’s 2021 deployment of an AI assistant called Billie and a two-year retraining effort of about 8,500 call-center staff for design advice.