The AI boomerang: companies that cut staff for neural networks are hiring them back

Layoffs justified by replacing workers with artificial intelligence tools have become routine around the world - but many companies are discovering the technology doesn't perform as expected and are calling the people they let go back to work. The practice has picked up a name: the AI boomerang, according to the Associated Press.

Recruitment firm Robert Half, citing hiring managers in finance, marketing, law and healthcare, says companies that carried out such cuts had to rehire for the same or similar positions. The reasons: AI needs closer oversight, and it can't reproduce the institutional knowledge built up inside an organization.

Recruiters put it plainly - critical thinking, teamwork, creativity and familiarity with a company's specifics are things artificial intelligence simply cannot replicate. Many business owners, they say, have begun to realize they "really do need people."

One example cited by AP: Ford's recent decision to hire or promote 350 experienced engineers after AI tools brought in for quality control fell short of expectations.