Block CEO Jack Dorsey, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna (left to right). Joe Raedle/Getty Images, AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, Sajjad Hussain/Getty Images Updated 2026-05-05T14:15:14.286Z Companies like Snap and Block cited AI as a factor in recent layoffs. Snap shared plans in April to cut 16% of its global workforce, citing "rapid advancements" in the tech. Coinbase's CEO said on May 5 that the company will cut 14% of its workforce, in part due to AI. Worries about AI one day replacing human workers have intensified recently — and as it turns out, that future may be here. A number of companies have recently announced cuts staff and cited AI efficiencies as a major rationale. A March report from career transition firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas found that so far this year, AI has been cited in 8% of job cut plans. Amid this rash of layoffs, some have asked whether AI is replacing so many roles once held by humans or whether some degree of "AI washing" is at work.…