The “doorman fallacy” is a major complaint I’ve had about past managers. I’d say things like “they let Excel manage the business. If there’s a cost without a painfully obvious benefit, it’ll be mindlessly cut. They put zero thought into intangible benefits. That’s why I’m always suspicious of new managers.”
The ‘doorman fallacy’: why careless adoption of AI backfires so easily
Submitted 2 weeks ago by volkerwirsing@feddit.org to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
magnetosphere@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
paraplu@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Even if there’s an understanding of the doorman fallacy throughout most of the chain of command, you can still run into issues.
I know as an analyst both me and my boss were very aware of intangibles, but usually couldn’t find a way to model them. The consumers of our reporting would also want these, but couldn’t always tell a story that was palatable to the client to justify the expense.
You end up with everyone knowing the doorman is a big deal but being unable to hold onto him.
jj4211@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yeah, have a new executive who managed a vaguely segment appropriate “hello world” with code gen and so regularly rants about why we should be paying human developers.
explodicle@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
On top of that, consumers dislike dealing with AI in customer service settings, and most say they’d likely choose a competitor that doesn’t use AI.
I’m surprised this is news. Automated phone menus have been common for decades. If an automated system could solve your problem, then you would have used the website and not had to wait. The only reason to call is if you need a human to help.
Now they’re offering the same thing, except you can’t just type 123whatever to get back to where you were.
Honytawk@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
The thing is that customers wouldn’t dislike dealing with AI in customer service if it actually worked.
It is like a self-service checkout. There is no problem with it, unless an item doesn’t want to scan, or an error appears where an employee is needed.
jj4211@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Think the issue is either a self service portal that works in very predictable way (like the self checkout) or a human to deal with nuance.
To the extent an LLM might be useful, it’s likely blocked from doing so because the operator doesn’t trust it either.
The biggest annoyance is that the LLM support tends to more aggressively refuse to bring a human in.
explodicle@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I wonder if it’ll be just like those self service checkouts — literally no improvements for 20 years.
WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 2 weeks ago
To avoid the doorman fallacy, companies must recognise jobs are more than the visible tasks listed on a job description.
It’s why malicious compliance and work-to-rule actions are pretty devastating for a company. You got to assume AI will act with malicious compliance, or at least hallucinate and lie about it.
gedaliyah@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It turns out that people are better at most things than non-people.
ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
As ever, the main driver is that owners/leaders have absolutely no respect for their workers. They are replaceable components who need to be replaced with more predictable ones because the unpredictable humans might rise up eventually.
Soup@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
And we(society in general) keep believing them, always acting like we’ll be rewarded if we just work a little harder. All the people using AI “because it helps me in my job” haven’t stopped for even a second to ask why the fuck they should be looking to be any more productive than they already are.
We enable this shit. We let ourselves be driven by these fucking toolbags. We have better options presented to us all the time and we ignore them. It’s our fault, but the cool thing about that is that it means we technically have control. Technically.
Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
In fairness, workers are very often the most expensive part of a business. Ya’know because they want a living wage… terrible people…
chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Which is ironic because AI unpredictably makes errors.
deranger@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
In a world of automated robo-bullshit it’s amazing how far a little human customer service goes. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m getting older and less patient, have more and bigger problems to deal with, if the robo-bullshit is worse, or all three, but god damn have I gotten frustrated having to deal with some automated nonsense this year.
jj4211@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The robo-bullshit is great, if the thing has no nuance. Self checkout, paying bills, buying stuff online.
The things is those things are great because they are so predictable. LLM takes the predictability out. It’s also generally not allowed to do anything that the self service portal was not allowed to do, so you get stuck with a more imprecise interface instead of the nice, precise interface of a traditional portal, and no access to more nuanced help. It’s the worst of both worlds.
deranger@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
It’s not great when you have to wait for phone menus because you have a weird request that doesn’t fit neatly into the options, so you have to navigate multiple levels, then you finally connect to a human… and the call drops, putting you right back at square one.
I like self checkout and doing things online but I’d not consider these robo bullshit. I can navigate through those at the speed of my own brain, rather than being on the equivalent of an escort quest where the NPC is moving at the speed of smell.
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I agree with the message here, but man does this anology fail with me. Hotel door men are just another pressure point for tipping for service I really don’t want / need 99% of the time. An automatic door and a smart luggage cart that follows me to my room would be much preferred.
Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I think you might be confusing a doorman with a bellhop.
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Nope. But that’s another person I can happily do without
vithigar@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Reads an article about people falling for the doorman fallacy, immediately falls for the doorman fallacy.
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I go to plenty of places don’t have doormen and prefer the experience. Did you read the description of the fallacy? The doorman fallacy is based on c suite execs making a decision that they don’t have personal experience with.
jqubed@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
lepinkainen@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Rory’s stuff is really insightful and you get those d’oh of course -moments when you listen to him talk and present his ideas
sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Organisations are falling for what is known as the doorman fallacy: reducing rich and complex human roles to a single task and replacing people with AI. This overlooks the nuanced interactions and adaptability humans bring to their work.
echodot@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
You know what you are absolutely right — Organisations are indeed falling for what is known as the doorman fallacy: reducing rich and complex human roles to a single task and replacing people with AI. This overlooks the nuanced interactions and adaptability humans bring to their work.