Will AI Replace IT?

Short answer: AI replaces IT tasks, not IT roles. The role shape is changing fast, but "IT is going away" is a vendor pitch.

What AI Replaces

• Tier-1 helpdesk tickets (password resets, software install requests).
• Basic monitoring and alert triage.
• Documentation drafting.
• Repetitive scripting.

What AI Does Not Replace

• Hardware and physical infrastructure decisions.
• Vendor management and procurement.
• Security incident response (judgment-heavy).
• Strategy and architecture.
• The relationships that get things done in an organization.

What This Means for IT Folks

Senior path is intact and getting more leveraged. Junior IT roles are the ones AI most directly replaces. The skills that compound: vendor and license management, security strategy, AI tooling adoption itself.

What This Means for Founders

• Outsource tier-1 to AI tools immediately if you have not.
• Hire senior IT (one or two) earlier than you used to.
• Stop trying to hire an army of generalists. Hire fewer, more capable people.

The Honest Take

Every wave of automation predicted IT obsolescence. None happened. AI is the biggest wave yet, but the pattern holds: the role compresses and shifts up the value chain. The senior IT person who learned to use AI is the one running the function in 2027.