Russia Sees 'AI Boomerang' as Companies Rehire Workers They Replaced with AI

The global trend of companies rehiring employees they had replaced with artificial intelligence - known as the "AI boomerang" - has reached Russia, HR expert Zuliya Loikova told NSN.

She attributed the shift to company leadership's disappointment in neural networks' capabilities. "AI couldn't handle all the tasks and failed where critical thinking was needed," Loikova said. "Some fired analysts hoping AI would cope, and a couple of months later ran into errors, when AI deliberately deceived them."

Businesses rushed to hand many functions to AI amid optimism about its abilities. Young specialists and support staff were hit hardest, but managers and even IT specialists were also cut.

Still, Loikova noted, practice has shown that neural networks can take on some functions, such as entry-level accountant or lawyer work. But a human must monitor and evaluate their output - AI cannot yet work autonomously.

She pointed to an earlier example cited by AP: American automaker Ford hired or promoted 350 experienced engineers after its deployed quality-control tools failed to meet expectations.