OTTAWA, Canada–Will credit union leaders need to prove that artificial intelligence can’t do certain jobs before they ask to hire people or add resources? Will board begin challenging CEOs over whether there is an AI alternative to a new hire? Both scenarios may become a reality if the example being set by one company becomes common practice.

Tobi Lutke, CEO of Shopify, said AI is playing a big role in changing how his company hires people. It’s a conversation that has come up often among credit unions.

Lutke said during an interview with MSNBC that there’s a “fundamental expectation” that employees are using AI in their day-to-day work.

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Employees will be expected to prove why they “cannot get what they want done using AI” before asking for more headcount and resources, Lutke wrote in a memo to staffers that he posted to X MSNBC reported. 

“What would this area look like if autonomous AI agents were already part of the team?” Lutke wrote in the memo, which was sent to employees in late March. “This question can lead to really fun discussions and projects.”

‘Fundamental Expectation’

Lutke further stated there is a “fundamental expectation” across Shopify that employees embrace AI in their daily work, saying it has been a “multiplier” of productivity for those who have used it.

“I’ve seen many of these people approach implausible tasks, ones we wouldn’t even have chosen to tackle before, with reflexive and brilliant usage of AI to get 100X the work done,” Lutke wrote in the memo.