"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired." - Anastacia
Earlier this month, I got laid off. It wasn't a surprise - the company was in obvious trouble. No customers eventually means no jobs. I almost told myself, "We had a good run, though" - but no, we didn't. It actually sucked big time.
Leadership was completely seduced by the fantasy of what AI might become. Watching management run in circles, unable to figure out where to place their bets, was exhausting. Honestly, getting cut was a relief. That atmosphere had become unbearable.
Don't get me wrong: I don't hate AI. I use it constantly, and I learn a ton from it. But Earth to Major Tom: AI simply accelerates whatever you feed it.
There is no:
"Prompting it right"
"Correct harness"
"Choosing the right model for the job"
"Just adding RAG"
"Magical agentic workflow"
"Silver bullet architecture"
"Missing context window that fixes broken product-market fit"
Treating those as magic fixes for a failing product strategy is just pure victim blaming.
So today - and probably for the rest of the week - I'm working in the dirt. No music. The phone stays inside. Just tangible, meaningful work without anyone arguing about whether I'm holding the shovel wrong. 🙄
To my fellow devs in transition: I hope you have a productive day while I go reconsider my life choices.
Today I'm gardening
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