We have been hearing for what seems like ages now that artificial intelligence (AI) is coming for a slew of jobs, with entry-level roles perhaps most in the firing line. Just last month, a report from the ESRI and the Department of Finance warned the new technology threatened the highly skilled, service economy jobs that have become the bedrock of the Irish economy.

But so far we have seen little evidence of this jobs apocalypse happening beyond the tech sector, which has unsurprisingly been an early adopter of the technology.

That appears to be changing, though. A survey from IrishJobs makes clear that firms are cutting in the parts of the workforce long deemed the most under threat from AI.

Nearly half of Irish employers have reduced the number of entry and graduate-level roles available in their organisation this year, the report shows, as companies move to a “more targeted model of talent acquisition” and look to offset the surge in costs we are seeing across the wider economy.

“Rising labour costs and advances in AI are also reshaping workforce planning, prompting many employers to rebalance their hiring mix and focus on experienced talent with in-demand skills,” the company said.

Those comments closely follow the warnings we have seen from numerous corners up to now. It now seems that we are starting to see the companies’ real actions in the face of the AI revolution feeding through in data.

While the IrishJobs survey outlines bad news for some workers’ future as a result of AI, a separate report from Expleo highlights a possible lifeline for others. Irish managers are more likely than those in France, Germany and the UK to value empathy as a fundamental skill for managers in the AI era, according to the report.

That might not be surprising in one sense. Traditionally, Irish people are seen as more personable than, say, their German counterparts. But it speaks to how those people skills may become more valued as the machines do more things in the workplace day-to-day.

After all, if workers are going to spend a big proportion of their day interacting with a chatbot then person-to-person interactions in the office may well become more important.

We have been hearing for what seems like ages now that artificial intelligence (AI) is coming for a slew of jobs, with entry-level roles perhaps most in the firing line. Just last month, a report from the ESRI and the Department of Finance warned the new technology threatened the highly skilled, service economy jobs that have become the bedrock of the Irish economy.

But so far we have seen little evidence of this jobs apocalypse happening beyond the tech sector, which has unsurprisingly been an early adopter of the technology.

That appears to be changing, though. A survey from IrishJobs makes clear that firms are cutting in the parts of the workforce long deemed the most under threat from AI.

Nearly half of Irish employers have reduced the number of entry and graduate-level roles available in their organisation this year, the report shows, as companies move to a “more targeted model of talent acquisition” and look to offset the surge in costs we are seeing across the wider economy.

“Rising labour costs and advances in AI are also reshaping workforce planning, prompting many employers to rebalance their hiring mix and focus on experienced talent with in-demand skills,” the company said.

Those comments closely follow the warnings we have seen from numerous corners up to now. It now seems that we are starting to see the companies’ real actions in the face of the AI revolution feeding through in data.

While the IrishJobs survey outlines bad news for some workers’ future as a result of AI, a separate report from Expleo highlights a possible lifeline for others. Irish managers are more likely than those in France, Germany and the UK to value empathy as a fundamental skill for managers in the AI era, according to the report.

That might not be surprising in one sense. Traditionally, Irish people are seen as more personable than, say, their German counterparts. But it speaks to how those people skills may become more valued as the machines do more things in the workplace day-to-day.

After all, if workers are going to spend a big proportion of their day interacting with a chatbot then person-to-person interactions in the office may well become more important.