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Box founder Aaron Levie recently called out what he calls "AI psychosis" — the phenomenon where executives who greenlight "AI can replace this job" are often the ones who know the least about what that job actually entails. He's warning that this decision-making blind spot is spreading across tech — decision-makers, overconfident in AI's potential, are rushing to implement mass layoffs without truly understanding workflows, role nuances, or the human judgment required.
In a concrete case, collaboration platform ClickUp just announced cutting 22% of its workforce, explicitly stating it will use AI Agents to take over those functions. This wave of layoffs has pushed 2026's total tech layoffs to nearly match all of 2025 — before even reaching the mid-year point — showing AI-driven workforce reduction is accelerating.
Levie's core argument isn't against AI adoption, but rather a warning: companies rushing to replace human labor with AI lack deep understanding of the work itself. When decision-makers aren't familiar with the actual complexity of the roles being replaced, they tend to overestimate AI's real coverage capability, ultimately hurting organizational efficiency. This "over-AI'd" thinking is becoming a new management risk in Silicon Valley. Full interview available at the source link.
