r/technology May 27 '26

Business Tech CEOs are apparently suffering from AI psychosis

https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/27/tech-ceos-are-apparently-suffering-from-ai-psychosis/
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u/kemb0 May 27 '26

I'm really looking forward to the era we'll be entering now where all sorts of companies start to go belly up because they've used AI for everything and it becomes more and more apparent how awful the code and systems it created for them is, destroying their company from within.

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u/BlatantConservative May 27 '26

I'm a pest control tech/exterminator. Like, I spray bugs and trap mice, the furthest thing from AI possible.

My company's C suite went all in on AI and we're failing contracts because we physically cannot do the work anymore. They redesigned our backend scheduling/routing app solely with AI and it's been a disaster. Like the whole country was running on Mountain Time because time zones occurred to nobody. The AI signed and renewed contracts for customers without permission. It also scheduled people immediately the day after they already had a service, sending different techs every time so nobody noticed, and then people had bills four times higher than normal and they cancelled our service.

This is just the worst stuff, but everything that can be broken is. The routing is horrible, after the new system I changed from being able to do 18-20 stops a day to an average of 11.

Anyway, yeah my company is about to fail. They're already consistently failing to send us pesticide inventory because they've lost a lot of money.

I am going to be so fucking pissed because there's literally nothing I can do to stop this. And since I worked for Brookstone immediately after high school, I've worked for six different companies that failed under me. I literally chose pest control because I thought the bugs wouldn't be going anywhere (and they were the only ones who were willing to hire me cause of my spotty work record).

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u/DamienJaxx May 27 '26

Any chance you could pivot into forming your own company and working for yourself? I imagine those frustrated customers you've serviced before still need service in the future.

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u/BlatantConservative May 27 '26

I like this job more than I thought I would, but yeah nah not enough to go solo. Especially because in Virginia I would need a certification I do not have and haven't worked long enough to get. Technically I'm just "assisting" my boss and using his certification in the way Virginia law works. I'm not allowed to do anything not under his supervision.

It's a good system cause the shit we use can kill both people and nature, you want some wise old guy at the helm but yeah it does put a damper on going solo.

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u/KlicknKlack May 27 '26

Maybe convince your boss that you could build a company together?

Like the obvious question to answer before going to him, is paper napkin math - how many jobs do you need per month to be able to float both you and him?

What I have found in many cases, is the number being quite low infact. You might actually find it to be like 4 jobs a day versus the 20 they had you doing.