Suumit Shah, the founder of Dukaan, has faced criticism after announcing on Twitter that his company had replaced 90% of its support staff with an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.
Shah defended the decision, highlighting the improved response and resolution times for customer queries.
The tweet quickly sparked outrage online, particularly at a time when concerns about AI taking over jobs, particularly in the services industry, are already prevalent.
Shah’s series of tweets describing the company’s choice to implement a chatbot garnered over a million views.
Shah acknowledged that laying off staff had been a difficult decision but deemed it necessary given the state of the economy.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Attempts Fresh Breakout as Battle for Yearly Highs Intensifies
He emphasized that startups, including Dukaan, were prioritizing profitability over pursuing “unicorn” status.
The CEO explained that the firm had struggled with customer support for some time and saw the chatbot as a means to rectify the issue.
Highlighting the development process, Shah described how they rapidly built the AI platform and bot to provide every Dukaan customer with their own AI assistant.
He expressed pride in the bot’s ability to provide swift and accurate responses to a wide range of queries. Shah’s tweets also emphasized that the company was actively hiring for multiple roles.
However, many users criticized Shah’s tweets, accusing him of callously disrupting the lives of his staff with this decision. They expressed disappointment that Shah’s thread failed to mention the assistance provided to the laid-off employees.
While responding to the backlash, Shah dismissed the criticism, suggesting that people were in search of profitability rather than sympathy on Twitter.
He promised to address the issue of staff assistance on LinkedIn.
The incident reflects the growing prevalence and accessibility of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, which organizations employ to enhance productivity while reducing costs.
These advancements have sparked fear among workers about potential job losses to technology.
In fact, a report by Goldman Sachs in March indicated that AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs.
The investment in AI by various Indian firms has further raised concerns about potential job losses in the country.
The public backlash against Suumit Shah’s decision to replace support staff with an AI chatbot highlights the need for companies to carefully consider the human impact of such decisions and ensure that appropriate measures are in place to support affected employees.
Balancing technological advancements with ethical considerations and empathy remains a crucial aspect of managing the transition to an increasingly automated future.
