> So, then - why don't people embrace AI with thinking mode as an acceptable form of automation?

"Thinking" mode is not thinking, it's generating additional text that looks like someone talking to themselves. It is as devoid of intention and prone to hallucinations as the rest of LLM's output.

> Can't the C-suite in this case follow its thought process and step in when it messes up?

That sounds like manual work you'd want to delegate, not automation.