I've been in the tech industry for decades, but I've never seen anything quite like this AI gold rush. It's like watching a high-stakes poker game where the chips are people's livelihoods. And Workday just went all in.

Workday, a company I've long admired for its innovative approach to enterprise software, just axed 1,750 jobs. That's 8.5% of their workforce gone in the blink of an eye. Why? To "prioritize investments in artificial intelligence."

Let that sink in for a moment.

The AI Feeding Frenzy

We're witnessing a feeding frenzy in the tech world. Companies are falling over themselves to show who's the most committed to AI. It's not just Workday. Amazon cut 27,000 jobs. Meta slashed 21,000. The list goes on.

But here's the kicker - these aren't struggling companies. Workday's revenue is up. Their forecasts are meeting expectations. This isn't about survival. It's about the future. Or at least, what these companies think the future looks like.

CEO Carl Eschenbach says they need a "new approach" for a "challenging economic environment." Translation: We're betting big on AI, and we need to free up cash to do it.

The Human Cost of Innovation

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not some Luddite railing against progress. I've been at the forefront of AI implementation in recruitment and sales for years. I've seen firsthand how AI can transform businesses.

But I've also seen how it can go wrong when companies rush headlong into AI without considering the human element.

Remember, AI is a tool. A powerful one, sure, but still just a tool. It's not meant to replace humans wholesale. It's meant to augment our capabilities, to make us more efficient, more insightful.

The Hybrid AI Workforce: A Better Way?

This is where I think Workday and others are missing a trick. Instead of this binary choice between humans and AI, why not embrace what I call the Hybrid AI Workforce?

This approach combines human intelligence, insight, and intuition with artificial intelligence and data science. It's not about replacing workers with AI. It's about using AI-driven recruitment automation to create super employees.

In my experience, this is where the real magic happens. When you use AI to handle the grunt work, the repetitive tasks, you free up your human workforce to focus on what they do best - building relationships, making nuanced decisions, being creative.

The Road Ahead

So where do we go from here? Workday says they'll continue hiring in key areas despite the cuts. They're expecting to shell out up to $270 million in severance and other costs. That's a hefty price tag for a gamble on AI.

But the real cost might be yet to come. What happens to morale when a company shows it's willing to sacrifice 8.5% of its workforce on the altar of AI? What message does this send to the remaining employees?

And what about the broader tech industry? Are we setting ourselves up for a future where jobs are perpetually insecure, where workers are constantly looking over their shoulders at the AI coming to replace them?

A Call for Balance

Look, I get it. AI is exciting. It's powerful. It's the future. But it's not everything. And it certainly shouldn't come at the cost of our workforce.

What we need is balance. We need to invest in AI, absolutely. But we also need to invest in our people. We need to train them, upskill them, prepare them for the AI-augmented future of work.

Because at the end of the day, it's not AI that will drive innovation and growth. It's people. People augmented by AI, sure. But still, fundamentally, people.

So to Workday, and to all the other tech companies out there eyeing similar moves, I say this: Don't forget the human in your rush to embrace the artificial. The future of work isn't AI or human. It's AI and human. Together.

The tech industry is at a crossroads. The choices we make now will shape the future of work for generations to come. Let's make sure we choose wisely.