tech
Tech CEOs are apparently suffering from AI psychosis
"CEOs are uniquely prone to AI psychosis," Box CEO Aaron Levie opines. Maybe that explains the almost religious belief in AI productivity gains.
TL;DR
- Tech industry sees record revenues alongside mass layoffs, with AI often cited as a reason.
- Box CEO Aaron Levie theorizes that CEOs suffer from 'AI psychosis' due to distance from the 'last mile' of work, leading to an inflated belief in AI's automation capabilities.
- Levie advocates for CEOs to deeply understand AI's limitations through extensive use, not just based on prototypes.
- Layoffs in the first five months of 2026 are nearly as high as all of 2025, with many companies 'AI washing' their reasons for cuts.
- ClickUp CEO Zeb Evans laid off 22% of his staff, attributing it to rolling out AI agents, aiming for a '100x org'.
- Multiple research studies, including from UC Berkeley and MIT, find no strong evidence of AI significantly boosting aggregate productivity or agents consistently performing at human-quality levels yet.
- A Harvard Business Review study suggests AI adoption can shift bottlenecks to executives, potentially leading to organizational chaos if not managed effectively.