It’s not strange for companies to make a big deal of initiatives that promise to improve their performance, which means it’s not strange for them to announce that they are increasing their engagement with AI. However, some recent announcements in this vein have experts questioning exactly what is behind the messages that CEOs and other business leaders are sharing.
“AI announcements from execs are rarely just about technology,” says Jared Navarre, founder of Keyni Consulting. “They’re about control. Whether it’s Amazon, Duolingo, or Klarna, what we’re really seeing is a form of performance theater.”
Navarre is a serial entrepreneur and systems strategist who has built, scaled, and sold multiple businesses across the technology, services, logistics, and entertainment industries. For over two decades, Navarre has also provided consulting services to more than 250 businesses around the world, from municipal governments to global corporations like Reebok, Capital One (News - Alert), and HCA Healthcare. He specializes in distilling complex problems into simple, scalable solutions that create operational clarity for organizations in flux.
“Many of the recent announcements we’re seeing on LinkedIn (News - Alert) and other platforms about AI are executives signaling innovation to investors while quietly warning employees that the machines are coming for their jobs,” Navarre says. “It’s an approach that is cheaper than restructuring and more effective than a layoff notice.”
What executives are saying about AI integration
The recent announcements Navarre mentions, along with the media reports that they have triggered, highlight the tension artificial intelligence has brought to the business world. Like most technological innovations, AI has been touted as a must-have for companies seeking to maximize efficiency, increase profitability, and gain a competitive edge. But unlike most technology innovations, AI has also been labeled an interloper that will replace hundreds of millions of human workers.
In June 2025, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told his company’s employees that the “over 1,000 Generative AI services and applications” Amazon has built to date are only “a small fraction of what we will ultimately build.” To explain how Amazon’s enhanced AI investment would impact employees, Jassy said his workforce should expect a shift as the company’s enhanced investment in AI starts to bear fruit, with “fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.” Jassy said the ultimate impact was hard to predict, but that he expects the shift “will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.”
“When Andy Jassy says AI will shrink the workforce, it’s a power move,” says Navarre. “It’s the type of statement that is a triple win for leadership. It allows you to appear cutting-edge while applying pressure for higher productivity and muting internal resistance. Those who adopt that type of approach are using fear as a management strategy.”
Business Insider later reported that many Amazon employees were shaken by Jassy’s statement. The publication cited internal communication channels, where discussions were centered on looming layoffs and over-reliance on AI. Some posted statements arguing that Amazon should be looking to empower employees with AI tools rather than replace them.
What experts feel is missing from AI announcements
Another recent statement made by Luis von Ahn, CEO of Duolingo, highlights a different problem AI is triggering in the corporate world: a lack of clarity. The statement, which went out in an “all-hands email” to the company’s employees, announced that Duolingo was taking significant steps to become “AI-first.” A key component of the shift, the email said, was a decision to “stop using contractors to do the work that AI can handle.”
The Duolingo email triggered a wave of backlash, including complaints from many customers, which seemed to have caused the company to backpedal on its decision about contractors. According to a report by Fortune, Duolingo announced a week after its initial email that it was “continuing to hire.”
Employees were also told in the Duolingo email that most of the company’s functions “will have specific initiatives to fundamentally change how they work.” The message didn’t offer further information on what those fundamental changes might involve or when they would take effect, but it did say employees would receive training and mentorship as part of the process.
“The real problem is that most of these announcements are long on hype and short on structure,” says Navarre. “Employees are told to ‘use AI,’ but rarely told how, for what purpose, or with what oversight. They’re expected to produce like machines without being given the tools or clarity to do it sustainably. That’s not transformation; it’s institutional gaslighting.”
One thing that most of today’s business leaders seem clear on is that AI is a technology their companies can’t afford to pass on. As von Ahn said in his message to his employees, embracing AI, even though it can be “scary,” means “staying ahead of the curve.” If companies want AI to be a force for innovation instead of fear, they’ll need to communicate more clearly, act more transparently, and empower their workforce — not just investors.
