Ford rehires 'gray beard' engineers after AI falls short

Ford has rehired 350 experienced engineers, some former employees, after AI systems failed to meet quality standards. Chief operating officer Kumar Galhotra stated the company relied too heavily on automated quality systems. He emphasized the return of these specialists to identify failures before parts reach production. Vice president Charles Poon mentioned, “Mistakenly we thought that by just introducing artificial intelligence... that would produce a high-quality product.” The company isn’t abandoning AI but plans to use these engineers to train younger staff and enhance AI tools. This move is expected to reduce costs by $1 billion this year.