Will AI agents replace people?
A question that frequently comes up when we talk about AI Agents is: will they replace human jobs?
The short answer is: yes, AI Agents will replace people in certain tasks. Some functions that consist of activities 100% replaceable by AI are already being automated.
However, in most cases, tasks have a complexity that will continue to require a combination of automation, human work, and other tools. AI enters as another resource to solve problems, complementing other solutions.
Throughout history, whenever a new technology emerges, it ends up replacing certain functions. It is a natural and recurring process.
Think about the evolution of the task of fetching water: before, perhaps 20 people carrying buckets were needed. With the invention of plumbing systems, that number dropped dramatically. And with water transport trucks, the need for human labor decreased even more.
Now, with AI Agents, we’re seeing this process happen again in various industries and functions.
However, the focus of this book is not to provide an in-depth analysis of the complex social, ethical, and political questions related to this replacement. That kind of analysis would require a different level of research and expertise.
Our objective here is to analyze the impact of AI Agents from an economic and market perspective, providing practical knowledge and strategies so that managers and leaders can get the most out of these technologies to optimize results in their companies, sectors, and teams.
That said, we recognize that the question of AI’s social impact is important and complex. We’ll touch on it briefly at the end of the book, when we talk about the “AI bubble”, but more from an economic perspective.