Because they believe that AI will replace payroll, which is generally a businesses highest expense. The more AI usage, the more likely they can eliminate jobs and give themselves bonuses.

They are excited the way a farmer is excited when his pigs are gorging themselves on grain and getting really, really fat. The farmer is glad to pay for grain because its much cheaper than the money he makes from selling them for meat.

They are giddy because its almost time for payday.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

payroll, which is generally a businesses highest expense

This is something that changed in the industry; it was a investment back then.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 0 points 13 minutes ago

Huh, it's been an operating expense since, let me check, the dawn of business?

"Investing in" your employees doesn't make a ton of sense when they could just hop over to the next company after a year, much like loyalty in a company doesn't make sense. It's all a business transaction in the end so if you can get a better deal, you should.

The unfulfilled promise of AI is to reduce the expense to a minimum so the few remaining people can accomplish the same work. That's more of an investment than paying people to work for you until they find a better job ever was. In theory.

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 16 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

I wonder at what point government will tax AI use by companies similarly to payroll taxes and incomes taxes.

If they pay an AI company $150,000 a month to replace $50,000 in salaries, the government then loses all that income tax from the previous employees as well as the payroll tax on $600k a year.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 minutes ago

Uh they'll just claim the AI is being used in another country then?

There's really no way to definitively decide the tax jurisdiction of an AI agent.

Good luck figuring this one out without a tax on unrealized gains in companies and good luck figuring that one out for companies if they can just scheme around it by reinvesting all their profit indefinitely.

A special 50% AI services tax for the company selling access to the AI might work though. Like VAT, but don't let companies claim it back. Good luck defining what AI is legally though.

[–] 1984@lemmy.today 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

At some point capitalism will fail but it will take much longer than we think...