Low-level tasks will be replaced, but there will always be a human kept in the loop, that is according to Google Ireland Head Adaire Fox-Martin. Speaking to The Sunday Times (paywall) Fox-Martin said there would be ‘aspects of roles replaced or augmented with artificial intelligence technology’. When asked whether lower-level roles would be automated at the company, Fox-Martin said she did not think there would be an ‘all-out replacement’. She added, ““AI is not new to Google, it has been embedded in our products from the beginning. Every time someone uses Google Maps they are using AI; every time you translate using Google Search, you are using AI.”

However, these are consumer-facing products created by Google, while the concern in the tech industry is that AI will mean junior engineers are replaced by mid-level professionals who will use the technology to generate basic code. “We will continue to develop our models of AI and our technology, and on Google Cloud we will be bringing new tools to our enterprise customers,” Fox-Martin said. “That’s business as usual.”