Oh they know what they want out of it, but they don't realize that LLMs / AI isn't up to the task at all. At best it's next generation code completion, and code completion hasn't made any jobs obsolete. (or, the time saved with code completion is not outweighed by the increased amount of software projects or the advancement in programming languages and libraries making code generation obsolete)

It sounds like IBM's management in this case thinks of AI powered code generators like they (and others) did of COBOL back when, "it's basically english so non-programmers can use it".

If you can't get good results from outsourcing, why should you expect good results from an LLM?

Because this time, the C-suite closed their eyes extra hard and tapped their heels one more extra time.

Still waking up in western Kansas, though.

Somehow LLMs unearth peoples' forgotten wishes to believe in magic and miracles again.

Expect to see the same story being said while actually being used as a cover for replacing expensive workers (e.g. anyone in the US) with cheaper workers. Wall Street is OK with this.