When Replacing Humans With AI Backfires...Why CEOs Regret Layoffs

Companies like Tesla, Klarna, IBM, and Duolingo all thought they could replace humans with machines. They bragged about efficiency, profits, and “AI-first” futures. But when the robots actually took over, everything started to fall apart. Tesla’s fully automated factory nearly bankrupted the company until Elon scrapped the robots and brought humans back. Klarna’s AI customer service cut thousands of jobs, but tanked quality so badly that they had to rehire. IBM’s HR bot couldn’t handle nuance and failed in real situations. Even Duolingo’s “AI-first” experiment backfired with users calling its new lessons “soulless.” Across industries, companies learned the same lesson: automation isn’t just fragile, it’s dumb without people to adapt when things break. Humans aren’t just workers—they’re the shock absorbers that keep everything from collapsing when the system fails. Turns out, Elon was right. Humans are underrated.

LinkedIn:   / hariharan-jayakumar-silo  
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Timestamps:
0:00 - AI First Future
0:28 - The Machine That Builds The Machine
5:32 - The Dream Of Automation
10:20 - Back-Peddling

Resources:
https://pastebin.com/RwLJwWeR