Learn extra at:
Facepalm: By no means underestimate an govt’s potential to say one thing that exhibits a wide ranging lack of knowledge. Check out Matt Turnbull, Govt Producer at Xbox Video games Studio Publishing, for instance, who steered that anybody who has been laid off ought to cut back “the emotional and cognitive load” that comes with such an terrible occasion by utilizing AI instruments. It is an particularly jarring remark contemplating the variety of people who find themselves dropping their jobs at Microsoft as the corporate pours billions into AI.
Turnbull has very correctly eliminated his put up, however it was captured by Necrosoft’s Brandon Sheffield. The exec began by mentioning these are difficult occasions – notably for the 9,000 Microsoft employees who’ve latest been laid off within the firm’s fourth spherical of layoffs in 18 months.
Matt Turnbull, Govt Producer at Xbox Recreation Studios Publishing – after the Microsoft layoffs – suggesting on Linkedin that will perhaps individuals who have been let go ought to flip to AI for assist. He severely thought posting this could be a good suggestion.
– Brandon Sheffield (@brandon.insertcredit.com) July 4, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Turnbull stated he has been experimenting with methods to make use of LLM AI instruments, together with Microsoft’s personal Copilot, to assist cut back “the emotional and cognitive load” that comes with job loss. Turnbull additionally notes that the newly unemployed are “not alone,” although he, in fact, was not amongst these laid off.
Turnbull helpfully included a collection of immediate concepts that he believes would possibly assist somebody who has simply misplaced their livelihood and is feeling “overwhelmed.” These included asking an AI to assist with profession planning, resume and LinkedIn drafts, and networking.
Probably the most spectacular immediate suggestion was one for “Emotional Readability and Confidence,” which learn, “I am combating impostor syndrome after being laid off. Are you able to assist me reframe this expertise in a means that jogs my memory what I am good at?”
Turnbull then knowledgeable laid-off those that these AI instruments may also help them “get unstuck sooner, calmer, and with extra readability.” He additionally suggests sharing his message with others, by some means managing to not embody the favored “no must thank me” line.
Along with shedding hundreds of individuals, Turnbull’s employer is spending an estimated $80 billion on AI infrastructure over the subsequent monetary yr, so do not be shocked to see extra folks changed as agentic brokers take over.
Regardless of what have been clearly good intentions, Turnbull’s put up is so tone-deaf – even by LinkedIn requirements – that one would possibly assume an AI wrote it. At the least he had the sense to delete it.
A number of firm CEOs have began admitting that the elevated use of AI in companies will result in job cuts. Amazon’s Andy Jassy said it would substitute some company employees on the agency, whereas Ford CEO Jim Farley and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have stated the know-how might decimate white-collar jobs. Leaders at Shopify, JPMorgan Chase, Fiverr, Moderna, and different huge firms at the moment are saying the identical factor.
Regardless of all this funding, AI typically is not the magical, money-saving software many execs consider it’s. We not too long ago heard that decision middle employees have been discovering that their AI assistants created more problems than they resolve.
