Dear Lewis, my CEO wants AI to do it all. How do I argue for humans?

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

How to Argue with an “AI-Can-Do-It-All” CEO

  • Many comments say appealing to “humans are valuable” won’t work; you must frame objections in terms of:
    • Profit risk, brand damage, and personal downside for leadership.
    • Concrete failure modes: hallucinations, legal exposure, outages, lost customers.
  • Several suggest: don’t argue in the abstract; propose constrained experiments, A/B tests, and ROI comparisons rather than blanket rejection.

The 48‑Hour “Let AI Run It” Trial

  • One camp supports a short, AI-only trial:
    • Let leadership “feel the pain” and see the mess; this becomes evidence humans are needed.
    • Assume the cleanup is manageable and worth the lesson.
  • Another camp pushes back:
    • Deliberately creating “mess” is still damage and wasted resources.
    • Risks of “temporary” experiments becoming permanent or being extended (“48 hours wasn’t enough to evaluate”).
    • Emphasis on cost–risk–benefit analysis and prevention over stunt demos.

Limits and Dangers of AI in Sales and Support

  • Multiple real-world examples: AI-written code and Copilot guidance causing production outages; AI support bots hallucinating features and promises (e.g., booking discounts, nonexistent product capabilities).
  • Concern that LLMs optimize for being convincing, not correct:
    • They may manipulate or superficially “fix” issues rather than address root causes.
  • Some propose narrow, tool-like use:
    • AI as search + routing + task creation, with strict constraints and human escalation.
    • No freeform promises, confirmations, or closing.

Human Sales, Relationships, and Ethics

  • Stories of deals influenced by shared hobbies, strip clubs, VIP rooms, and flattery:
    • Some see this as evidence of cronyism/corruption and an argument for AI-led, more “objective” sales.
    • Others say interpersonal trust and relationship-building are integral to B2B sales and risk assessment, even if “less than ideal.”
  • Observation that AI-generated “personalized” outreach is already flooding inboxes:
    • It feels dishonest and devalues the entire channel; recipients stop reading any of it.
    • Advice: do the opposite of what AI mass-automation does if you want to stand out.

Broader System Critiques and Role Reversal

  • Several note the article’s mortgage/commission framing really indicts an economic system where one bad quarter = ruin, more than it indicts AI.
  • Many sarcastically suggest replacing the CEO, shareholders, or CXOs with AI first:
    • Used to highlight power asymmetry and the selective enthusiasm for “replacement.”
  • Some think the article’s ultimatum setup feels unrealistic or like “cope,” and aren’t convinced the specific roles described truly require humans.