Key Takeaways
- 25% of Georgia managers expressed willingness to replace employees with AI, higher than the national average of 21%.
- Maine leads the country in willingness, with 67% of managers feeling zero guilt about replacing staff with technology.
- Pressure from upper management, productivity gains, and cost savings largely drive managers’ decisions to replace humans with AI.
- Cost reductions as low as 5% would lead some managers to consider laying off workers.
- Only 46% of managers would inform employees about potential AI replacements upfront, indicating a lack of transparency.
In the algorithmic arms race reshaping America’s workplaces, Georgia’s corner offices have spoken—and human job security isn’t exactly their priority. A revealing new survey shows 25% of Georgia managers would replace their flesh-and-blood staff with artificial intelligence without losing a wink of sleep, surpassing the national average of 21%.
The eye-opening study from Trio.dev, which surveyed managers across the country, exposes the cold calculations happening behind closed boardroom doors as AI continues its march into workplace territory once thought safely human.
The Guilt-Free Guillotine
While Georgia’s managers show concerning comfort with digital displacement, they’re not even the coldest calculators in the country. Maine leads the nation in managerial mercilessness, with a staggering 67% of bosses claiming they’d feel zero guilt about swapping staff for software. California (53%), Colorado (47%), Hawaii (43%), and Maryland (38%) round out the top five states where human capital appears increasingly expendable.
Idaho stands as the lone bastion of boss benevolence, with just 8% of managers willing to coldly cut their human workforce.
What Makes Managers Pull the Plug?
When asked what factors would drive their decision to replace humans with AI, managers revealed their true masters:
- Pressure from upper management/shareholders: 36%
- Productivity gains: 31%
- Cost savings: 27%
- Industry trends/competitors: 6%
“AI is often framed as an unstoppable force, but what we’re seeing is that the real gatekeepers are managers and executives. The striking part isn’t only how many say they’re willing to replace workers — it’s how quickly financial reasoning outweighs ethical hesitation,” said Alex Kugell, Co-founder & CTO of Trio.dev.
Notice, 36% of managers acknowledged having some semblance of a soul, but would ultimately cave to pressure from upper management or shareholders.
The Price of a Person
How much savings would it take for managers to show employees the door? For a disturbing 15%, the answer is a mere 5% cost reduction—barely enough to cover the office coffee budget. Another 9% would make the switch for 10% savings, while 26% would do it for 20% less. Only half of managers surveyed said they’d require 50% savings to justify replacing a human worker.
Not All Jobs Created Equal
Technical positions face the highest risk of replacement, with one-third of managers seeing no ethical issues with automating coding and design roles. Customer service workers aren’t far behind (25%), followed by clerical staff (16%) and creative roles (15%). Sales positions appear safest, with only 11% of managers viewing them as ethically replaceable.
The Transparency Trap
Perhaps most troubling for workers: most managers plan to keep their automation plans under wraps. Only 46% would tell staff upfront about potential AI replacements, while 54% admitted they’d stay silent until the digital deed was done.
Interestingly, managers reported feeling more uncomfortable replacing workers with AI (57%) than with overseas employees (43%)—though the unemployment line looks the same either way for displaced American workers.
Despite tech leaders pushing companies to use AI to supplement employees or as a catalyst to change roles and not fire humans, managers are predictable in their habit — or hobby — of cutting people to save cash.
Georgia’s status as a right-to-work state also puts up barriers for humans trying to salvage their jobs against the onslaught of AI. Georgia law makes it more difficult for employee rights groups like unions to exist and Georgia employers and workers are also hostile to unions.
Right-to-work means that in some states, workers cannot be forced to join a union or pay union fees to get or keep a job. This law allows employees to choose whether they want to be part of a union, which is a group that helps workers have a stronger voice and negotiate better pay and working conditions.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
