Kathryn Sullivan was nearly in tears when she narrated her ordeal about being replaced by the very AI chatbot she trained in her job. the AI chatbot was deployed at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to assist the customers.
Kathryn, who worked for 25 years at the bank, was initially excited to train the bot. Little did she know that the very AI would make her among 45 workers in July 2025.
A single mother, 63-year-old Kathryn joined the bank in 2000. She stated, “I was loyal for so long and this is the thanks I get.” She further added, “I gave my heart and soul to the business. I wore the uniform with pride.”
Per her statements to Yahoo Finance, the now jobless banker developed scripts for Bumblebee, a bot that was being trained to be the face of customer service.
In July, on an hour’s notice to attend a meeting, she was told that she was being fired.
Kathryn was set to retire in 2029. She is now paranoid about the future and sources to support her son, who has a mild intellectual disability.
Speaking with Yahoo Finance, a CBA spokesperson stated
We are currently supporting affected employees and have provided them with a choice regarding continuing in their current roles, pursuing redeployment within CBA or to proceed with leaving the organization.”
Australian Bank Fires Employee After 25 Years, Replaces Her With AI She Helped Train https://t.co/eH87DGW4pS pic.twitter.com/xdu6mEUXjZ
— NDTV WORLD (@NDTVWORLD) September 4, 2025
#ItsViral | Bank worker devastated at being fired after 25 years, replaced by AI chatbot she helped train https://t.co/oXPFMWArUo
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) September 4, 2025
Kathryn Sullivan worked at Commonwealth Bank for 25 years. However, after helping to build the bank’s chatbot, Bumblebee, she was made redundant and subsequently “ghosted”. https://t.co/vUv08iOJHR
— Financial Review (@FinancialReview) September 4, 2025
Commonwealth Bank worker’s brutal realisation after training AI chatbot that made her redundant https://t.co/E1CWe9m3Li
— Yahoo Finance Australia (@YahooFinanceAU) September 3, 2025
Reactions over the report followed on social media cursing the industry for embracing AI. One user jibed, “Clankers everywhere,” while another quipped, “Clankers are taking over.”
Clankers everywhere pic.twitter.com/SnfamBmxag
— CLANKER (@fknCLANKER) September 4, 2025
clankers are taking over
— trancey (@tranc3y) September 4, 2025
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