We all thought AI would replace grocery store clerks, gas station attendants, and other mundane jobs, but it turns out the first victim of the AI revolution is actually the C-suite. Chinese game company NetDragon Websoft appointed an AI to be the CEO of its major subsidiary, and so far it seems to be going well.
NetDragon Websoft has made a number of multiplayer titles including Eudemons Online, Heroes Evolved, and Conquer Online, but you’ll probably know it best as the current owners of Neopets. Last August, NetDragon appointed an “AI-powered virtual humanoid robot” called Tang Yu as CEO of Fujian NetDragon Websoft, saying it will improve efficiency, risk management, and decision-making, and ensure a “fair workplace for all employees.”
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We’re not entirely sure how Tang Yu has increased efficiency and fairness at Fujian NetDragon Websoft, but we do know that the company’s stock has increased dramatically since then. According to a report fromBusiness Insider, NetDragon stock has gone up 10 percent in the six months since Tang Yu was put in charge, and it’s even out-performing the overall Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
“We believe AI is the future of corporate management, and our appointment of Ms. Tang Yu represents our commitment to truly embrace the use of AI to transform the way we operate our business, and ultimately drive our future strategic growth,” said NetDragon Chairman Dejian Liu in apress releaselast August.
“We will continue to expand on our algorithms behind Tang Yu to build an open, interactive and highly transparent management model as we gradually transform to a metaverse-based working community.”
It’s probably still too soon to say whether every CEO should be replaced by an AI overlord, but we do know that AI are now capable of thinking strategically,even out-performing human minds in the game of Diplomacy. They can alsocome up with entire D&D scenarios on their ownorsuggest who should play Revan in a potential Knights of the Old Republic movie.
But they can also go a little off the rails, like that timeNothing Forever went on a transphobic rant, or the time an AI-generatedSpongeBob told everyone about the wild orgy he saw in Mr. Krab’s office. On the plus side, there’s no need to give an AI CEO a golden parachute when it eventually screws up.
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