British banking giant HSBC appealed to staff not to fight artificial intelligence on Wednesday, saying it would destroy jobs while creating new ones, as its rival Standard Chartered attempted to calm workers over comments that the technology would replace "lower-value human capital."
The predictions from two of the world's biggest banks are the clearest sign yet about the upheaval from a technology that can consume and process vast swathes of data, completing tasks previously done by people.
CEO Georges Elhedery urged HSBC staff to make sure they were "not fighting us, not disenfranchised, not anxious, overwhelmed, and resisting the change," pledging that AI could make them "more productive versions of themselves."
"We all know generative AI will destroy certain jobs and will create new jobs," Elhedery said.
Standard Chartered said on Tuesday it would eliminate almost 8,000 jobs as it replaced what its CEO called "lower-value human capital" with technology.
