--- title: "The Numbers Are In: Replacing All CEOs With AI Just Makes Sense" description: "We're not in favor of any jobs going solely to robots. But if any jobs should be automated, it should probably be those of the CEOs." date: "2023-03-16" modified: "2023-03-16" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/replacing-ceos-with-ai-makes-sense" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "automation" - "ceos" - "the digest" --- # The Numbers Are In: Replacing All CEOs With AI Just Makes Sense ![We're not in favor of any jobs going solely to robots. But if any jobs should be automated, it should probably be those of the CEOs.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Automated CEO To all the CEOs out there who [might be interested]() in — [or already are]() — replacing their employees with autonomous, AI-powered robots: sorry, but as [*The Hustle* reports](), the numbers are in... and it looks like it actually makes the most sense to put your job on the proverbial chopping block instead. And frankly? It makes a lot more sense than you might think. It's no secret that chief execs, especially those that helm major companies, make *a lot* of money, with the average CEO — who might rake in a solid [$16-or-so million]() a year — earning nearly 400 times what the average employee makes, [according to data]() from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). And that's just the average. When it comes to the biggest players in the business, pay ratios are almost cartoonishly skewed. Here's one particularly alarming stat: Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy's [2021 salary](), as the *Hustle* notes, capped out at a staggering $213 million, a number amounting to the collective earnings of 6,474 average Amazon employees. And look, if someone does a good job, they should get paid well. A lot of CEOs, however, get paid ungodly amounts of cash, even when they do an objectively terrible job. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, for example, raked in $247 million back in 2021 — only to be named the "[worst CEO of 2022]()" shortly thereafter. ## Growth Uber Alles Which brings us to the real question, here: *what is it* that we are paying these people for? As the *Hustle* notes, the primary function of most chief executives, particularly those at long-established firms, is to measure business growth — and the majority of their work, [some execs say](), can actually be outsourced. And if that much work can already be outsourced to a human, why not automate those tasks using AI, instead? Of course, AI bots can't shmooze on the golf course — at least yet — but as we've known [since 2014](), that part of the job should probably be done away with entirely. We're not exactly in favor of any jobs going solely to robots. But considering that most average human underlings are treated like robots by their chief execs already, it only makes sense that CEOs finally meet a similar fate — especially when they're allocated this much cash, and often have little to show for it. **READ MORE:** [*Should we automate the CEO?*]() \[*The Hustle*\] **More on CEOs and AI:** *["AI Will Never Replace Journalism," Says Magazine CEO Replacing Journalists with AI ]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()