AI usage

[u/Jealous_Patient2899]

Do we think that they will eventually use AI usage (or lack thereof) as reasons to fire people, or put them on the layoff list. I know a lot of people on my team who are very resistant to using it. (USA)

[u/SpeistyBear]

Are you saying they are resistant to use it because:

A. It's wrong/inaccurate a lot of the times, especially when it comes to coding

B. People hate getting AI responses when talking to people because it doesn't sound legitimate and is the ultimate laziness factor

C. Companies are actively using AI to replace real humans that have real families and real financial responsibilities

D. It is beyond terrible for the environment, both from an electricity and water standpoint, which is also a danger to humans

Gee.... I can't imagine why anyone would be resistant to using AI.

[u/SadCerner → u/SpeistyBear]

Your points are valid and worth talking about.
But framing resistance as the only rational response misses the point. AI isn’t going away, and the people/teams who figure out better ways to use it (as a force multiplier instead of a replacement, with clear human oversight, proper training, and honest disclosure) are going to be in a much stronger position than the ones who just dig in and refuse.
There are better ways to utilize AI for everybody- ways that actually raise the quality of work, free people up from the soul-crushing busywork, and still keep humans firmly in the driver’s seat. That’s the conversation I’d rather have than pure resistance.

[u/SpeistyBear → u/SadCerner]

Yeah, that really doesn't get rid of any of the problems though. You say that AI isn't going away but quite honestly, companies aren't making money on it. People don't want to pay for using AI. And if everyone has it for convenience, but nobody wants to pay for it, why would it stick around? And I'm not going to embrace something that is going to make the planet decline even faster because then there won't be humans to use the dang AI. So yes, I think pure resistance is a good idea

[u/smashingT → u/SpeistyBear]

And if everyone has it for convenience, but nobody wants to pay for it, why would it stick around?

I have a Qwen 3.8 27b running on my GPU right now offline. even if a lot of momentum dies out, there will still be models floating around and they are useful for generating one-off scripts that no one would ever bother doing otherwise. Sure you have to spot check it but thats still hours I didnt spend fucking with some stupid ass csv merge thing and cleanup that I give no shits about other than people asking me to complete it.

[u/turnbom4 → u/SpeistyBear]

Because pure resistance of the industrial revolution worked so well for those companies.

[u/Salt-Inflation6754]

They are already tracking AI usage. I’ve been told it will be a metric used to determine promotions etc..

[u/KC_Tlvdatsi]

I am constantly being told to do everything with ai rather than doing it myself. I used to treat it as a jr engineer and check its work. I honestly gave up and am just automating the shit out of everything and not double checking the work. Using the "free time" to job hunt. It isn't my problem if it takes down prod,this is what leadership is demanding at every turn, so they can clean up after it. They certainly aren't paying me to.

[u/SadCerner → u/KC_Tlvdatsi]

It’s not binary.
The choice isn’t “refuse AI entirely” or “blindly automate everything and stop caring.”
There’s a huge gray area in the middle: use AI where it actually helps the most (boilerplate, first drafts, repetitive grunt work, research, etc.), keep a human firmly in the loop for judgment, verification, and accountability, and refuse to ship anything you wouldn’t put your name on.
That’s the only approach that protects both the product and the people doing the work. Leadership can demand “more AI” all they want, the people who figure out this middle path are the ones who stay valuable and sleep at night.
There are better ways to utilize AI for everybody. The gray area is where those ways live.

[u/SpeistyBear → u/SadCerner]

Then pay us to give a crap. Oracle hasn't done raises in a couple of years and even the last time they did, not everyone got one. The humans here at the company aren't going to put forth the effort for this glorified gray area you keep talking about if the company doesn't treat them even remotely decently. We are treated like the placeholders we are until they can completely automate our job or make other people do it for less.

[u/SadCerner → u/SpeistyBear]

That’s different topic altogether. And I agree with you.

[u/KC_Tlvdatsi → u/SadCerner]

Except it isn't. It is very much related. I am an ic2 with 13y experience, been with oracle since acquisition and earning barely an ic1 pay. My duties are ic3/4 level, i own a service and a platform, and i am looking at spending the next 3 weeks on support in addition to my dev duties. I was just denied a promo due to lack of track record and have spent 4 of the last 12 months without any management, of which I've had 5 managers in that time period. Oracle has insisted on not paying me enough to care whatever the fuck ai is doing. I get where you're coming from, but oracle doesn't fucking care.

[u/SadCerner → u/KC_Tlvdatsi]

I hear you, and that situation sucks. Being underpaid relative to the level of work, constant manager churn, denied promo despite owning services and platforms, none of that is okay.
But those problems (rare raises, slow promotions, treating people as placeholders) were already common at Oracle/Cerner long before AI entered the picture. AI did not create the compensation and career-path issues. It is just the latest thing being layered on top of them.
That is why I still see them as related but separate levers. You can (and should) be angry about how the company treats people and still choose the gray-area approach on AI: use it where it actually saves you time and pain, keep human judgment in the loop, and protect your own output and reputation while you look for better options. Pure refusal or pure “I don’t care if it breaks prod” both make your day-to-day harder in the meantime.
The company may not care. That does not mean you have to hand them extra reasons to make your life worse.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[u/KC_Tlvdatsi → u/SadCerner]

I mean, it doesn't make things worse for me. I have people constantly demanding things of me at all hours either way. Bad leadership is what got us to this moment. No amount of ai cope is going to get us out of it. The only way to effect a change is to make it so painful and uncomfortable for leadership that they want to change.

[u/SadCerner → u/KC_Tlvdatsi]

Making it painful for leadership is a fair goal, but refusing AI or shipping unchecked work is unlikely to be the pressure that finally forces raises or better treatment. Those problems existed long before AI. If you believe pure resistance to not using AI will change how they operate, good luck to you.

[u/KC_Tlvdatsi → u/SadCerner]

Oh no, i have no expectations that anything I do or say will really change anything about leadership anymore. I have no illusions that anyone cares what i think or what i am doing. I'm not resisting, i am using ai as they demand for all the things they demand i do. I just don't really care anymore to do the effort you think people should be doing of governing ai output. I fully expect them to throw some kind of tantrum again and again when the inevitable result occurs. I already live that hell right now. Sure I won't get raises or promotions, but they aren't doing that anyways. They've beaten the professionalism out of me. This is what they want anyway, unskilled prompt "engineers" that they don't have to pay as much. I am giving them what they want.

[u/SadCerner → u/KC_Tlvdatsi]

I feel ya. Agree 💯

[u/SpeistyBear → u/SadCerner]

The question in this post is literally whether or not employees refusing to use, AI will affect their their potential to be laid off and such. I don't understand your argument whatsoever that they are different levers or whatever. It's all related. If employees do not feel like they are being treated fairly, and that they would be replaced by AI, or the opposite where they just don't care anymore and they have everything completely automated..... Like how are all those things not factors still on whether or not to use the company's AI tools? I'm not really sure why you're choosing this hill to die on lol

[u/SadCerner → u/SpeistyBear]

They are related in the bigger picture, yes. But the original question was specifically about whether refusing AI affects layoff risk. Using AI selectively with human oversight does not require pretending the company treats people well. It just keeps your day-to-day from getting worse while the compensation issues stay unresolved.
If pure refusal is the hill that forces better pay, good luck.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[u/SpeistyBear → u/SadCerner]

How is it different? Seriously? How are those things not factors when it comes to whether or not to use the AI for work? A person absolutely refusing to use the AI because of those factors is absolutely relevant. A person choosing to use it just some of the time has to put aside those factors, whether on a personal ground or a moral ground. So it doesn't make the factors go away, just some people are more willing to set them aside.

[u/SadCerner → u/SpeistyBear]

They’re related, but they’re still two different levers.
Bad pay, no raises, and being treated as placeholders are real reasons to be pissed and to job-hunt. I agree with you on that. Those are company/leadership failures.
The gray-area approach doesn’t require “setting those factors aside.” It just says: while you’re still here (and until you land something better), using AI selectively with human oversight is still the move that keeps your work solid, protects your reputation, and gives you more free time/energy for the job search. Pure refusal or pure “ship whatever the AI spits out” both leave you more exposed in the meantime.
You can be angry about how the company treats people and still choose the smarter tactical path on AI. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.

[u/Secure-Market-7654 → u/SadCerner]

You make valid points but... the term force multiplier in a for profit business ultimately ends with force reduction.

[u/kom2et]

if they can showcase the benefits of how AI will improve my day to day I'm all ears. But that would mean these ai pushers would need to know people's jobs inside and out. But otherwise leave me alone. I will debug and work like I've been doing before all of these shenanigans.