Have You Heard of AI-Washing?
Have you heard of ‘AI-washing’?
Much like my laundry, there’s a ton of it and I’m already over it.
For example, a large global bank is reportedly considering tens of thousands of job cuts due to ‘AI efficiencies’.
And it gets worse. A recent report found that 86% of workers most vulnerable to this so-called AI displacement are women. The same women already fighting for equal pay, equal seats, and equal opportunities.
Let’s think critically about what’s actually happening here.
Companies are using AI as a convenient cover story for cuts that were coming anyway. Pandemic overhiring, structural problems, underperforming business units, market pressure, margin pressure — the list goes on.
The data doesn’t back it up either:
💡 DX found AI in software engineering leads to 10% gains, not 10x or more.
💡 A global payment provider replaced 700 people with AI. Quality tanked. They quietly rehired humans.
💡 Researchers at Oxford Economics, Forrester and CNBC agree: real displacement would show up as massive productivity gains. It hasn’t.
When you see a company cut thousands of jobs and frame it as ‘AI efficiencies’, ask:
🍔 Were they thriving before AI came along, empowering their people?
💩 Or were they already in trouble, needing a convenient press release?
P.S. Raise your hand if you thought ‘AI-washing’ was using Claude to vibe code your washing machine.
Come talk to me about it on LinkedIn
