The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has conducted layoffs among its IT staff who refused to integrate artificial intelligence into their work. This was reported by the company’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, during a podcast with Stripe co-founder John Collison.
This is reported by Business • Media
Integrating Artificial Intelligence at Coinbase
According to Armstrong, the company is actively integrating artificial intelligence tools, including Copilot and Cursor, into all business processes. Coinbase has purchased corporate licenses for these services for its programmers; however, some employees did not immediately embrace the changes. The CEO mentioned that it was initially forecasted that the level of AI integration would reach 50% within one to two quarters, but he demanded quicker results.
“I was told it would take one or two quarters to reach at least a 50% adoption level. I just lost it. Why can’t every programmer just start using these services by the end of the week? After that, I posted a message in Slack: ‘AI is important. You all need to learn it and master it. You don’t have to use it every day, at least until we conduct training, but you should master it by the end of the week,'” Armstrong stated.
After announcing the requirement to master AI by the end of the week, Armstrong personally spoke with those who did not comply. Some were unable to undergo training for valid reasons, such as being on vacation; however, some programmers who refused without valid grounds were terminated. The exact number of layoffs is not disclosed, but the reductions were not widespread.
Company Outcomes and Next Steps
Following the changes, Coinbase began organizing monthly meetings to share experiences using artificial intelligence among employees. Currently, approximately 33% of the new code in the company is created using AI, and by the end of the current quarter, Coinbase aims to raise this figure to 50%.
Armstrong emphasized the importance of thoroughly reviewing code written by artificial intelligence, especially when it comes to payment tools and infrastructure. He stressed that the company is cautious in implementing new technologies.
Coinbase is not the only company requiring employees to use AI in their work. In particular, Shopify has stated that it will only hire specialists who cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence in the future.