IBM vice chair and former NEC director Gary Cohn said Wednesday that recent layoffs are "the natural cycle" as companies transition from clinging to workers to seeing how efficient they can operate. Cohn said while AI is part of what's behind recent layoffs, they are also a reflection of the labor market, as it is easier than previous years to bring in additional work if needed. Watch more: cnb.cx/47cmNBC | CNBC

IBM vice chair and former NEC director Gary Cohn said Wednesday "when we get into the quantum space, AI will go from the cost saver to the revenue creator" because the models will then be able to actually think instead of only doing what they were trained to do. Watch the full interview: cnb.cx/48OdhWw | CNBC