What happens when companies become too AI-pilled?

Box co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie has offered a pointed critique of the corporate rush to replace human workers with artificial intelligence, arguing that the executives making those calls are frequently the ones with the shakiest grasp of what the affected jobs actually involve. Levie described this disconnect as a form of "AI psychosis," a phrase suggesting that leadership enthusiasm for automation has outpaced any real understanding of the work being automated away.

The remark lands at a moment when several data points seem to back up his concern. Companies across the technology sector are citing AI capability as justification for workforce reductions, even as the practical case for those cuts remains murky to outside observers and, in some instances, to the employees whose roles are eliminated.

Project management software maker ClickUp offered a stark example, trimming roughly 22 percent of its staff and pointing to AI agents as a driving factor behind the decision. The move places ClickUp among a growing list of firms treating autonomous AI tools as a direct substitute for portions of their human headcount, rather than simply a productivity aid layered on top of existing teams.

That single case fits into a much larger pattern. Layoff totals across the tech industry so far in 2026 are already approaching the full-year figures recorded in 2025, according to tracking cited in the discussion. The pace suggests companies are leaning on AI-related justifications, whether accurate or aspirational, at a scale that could make 2026 one of the heaviest years yet for technology job cuts.

At the same time, everyday users are pushing back against a different flavor of AI overreach: products that insert AI features where people simply want a straightforward result. Search engine DuckDuckGo has reportedly seen a rise in installations from people who use it specifically to escape Google's increasing habit of layering AI-generated summaries atop search results. Rather than wanting an AI assistant, these users say they just want a clean list of links.

Together, the two trends paint a picture in which corporate leadership and everyday consumers can hold seemingly opposite reactions to AI that are each grounded in legitimate frustration — executives betting aggressively on automation while users resist AI intrusions into tools that already worked fine. That tension formed the core of a recent discussion on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, where hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane examined how both the AI boosters and the AI skeptics can be correct simultaneously, depending on where in a company or a product someone sits.

The same episode also touched on other current industry developments, including three notable deals the hosts flagged as worth watching and the rollout of Waymo's newest robotaxi model onto public roads. Neither item was detailed extensively, but their inclusion underscored that the AI debate is unfolding alongside steady advances in autonomous technology deployment, even as questions about AI's role in the workplace remain unresolved. Whether the layoff wave attributed to AI proves durable, or whether some companies walk back overly aggressive cuts once the practical limits of current AI tools become clearer, is likely to become evident only as more firms report results in the coming quarters.

Source: TechCrunch