New Delhi, June 12 -- When the chief executive of the world's most valuable AI chipmaker tells the business world it is misusing artificial intelligence as an excuse, people tend to listen. Jensen Huang, whose company Nvidia sits at the very centre of the global AI boom, has sparked a fresh debate by publicly challenging the growing corporate habit of attributing layoffs to AI, calling the reasoning sloppy and, in many cases, simply dishonest.

The remarks, made in an interview with Singapore broadcaster CNA, have cut through because of who is making them. Huang has more financial interest than almost any executive alive in presenting AI as an unstoppable, transformative force. Instead, he is telling chief executives to own their decision...