I had lunch with a former Microsoft co-worker I’ve always admired — one of those engineers who can take any idea, even a mediocre one, and immediately find gold in it. I wanted him to take to Wanderfugel 🐦, the AI-powered map I’ve been building this whole time. I was hoping for encouragement. At worst, an overly generous response because she knows what I’ve sacrificed.
Instead, he reacted to it with a level of negativity I’d never seen him directly attack me with before.
When I finally explained to him what was wrong, it had nothing to do with what I had built. He talked about Copilot 365 and Microsoft AI. And every pathetic AI tool she’s forced to use at work. My product barely showed up. His reaction was not about me at all. It was about his entire environment.
AI layoff
Their Prime Minister was ousted months ago. The team asked why? Their director told them it was because the PM organization “was not effective enough at using CoPilot 365.”
I laughed nervously. This director stood up in a group meeting and said that has anyone lost their job because of this?
After a pause I tried to share how much better I was feeling — how AI tools helped me learn faster, how much they sped up my work on Wanderfugel. Although I didn’t fully realize how tone deaf I was becoming. She is drowning in anger.
I left lunch empty handed and felt strangely guilty, as if building an AI product had made me part of the problem.
But then I realized it was much bigger than a conversation. Every time I shared Wanderfugel with a Seattle engineer, I got the same reactionary, critical, negative response. That wasn’t true in Bali, Tokyo, Paris or San Francisco – people were curious, engaged, wanting to understand what I was making. But in Seattle? As soon as they heard “AI”, there was immediate hostility.
Big tech people are no good in seattle
When I joined Microsoft, there was still a sense of possibility. Satya was pushing “growth mindset” everywhere. Leaders talked about empowerment and breaking silos. And even though there was always a gap between slogans and reality, there was room to try things.
I leaned into it. I pushed into areas that no one wanted to touch, like Windows Update compression, because it lived awkwardly between three teams. Somehow, the 40% improvement made it out alive. The leadership supported it. Those who were trying to end it retreated back into their own estates. It seemed as if the culture wanted change.
That world is gone.
When the layoff directive came, every organization prepared for the impact. Anything that was not within the organization’s charter was removed. I went from making a major improvement to Windows 11 to having zero projects overnight. I left shortly after. In the end, it would be better to be fired with separation than to watch the culture collapse in slow motion.
Then came the AI panic.
If you could classify your project as “AI”, you were safe and reputable. If you couldn’t, you were nothing. Overnight, most engineers were rebranded as “not AI talent”. And then came the final humiliation: Everyone was forced to use Microsoft’s AI tools, whether they worked or not.
CoPilot for Word. CoPilot for PowerPoint. CoPilot for email. Code for copilot. Worse than the devices they replaced. Worse than competitors’ devices. Sometimes worse than working by hand.
But you weren’t allowed to fix them—that was the domain of the AI organization. You were expected to use them, fail to see an increase in productivity, and remain silent.
Meanwhile, AI teams became a protected class. Everyone else watched as components stagnated, stock refreshers ran out, and performance reviews dwindled. And if your team doesn’t live up to expectations? Clearly you were not “embracing AI.”
Now bring AI into a Seattle coffee shop and people react like you’re advocating asbestos.
The people of the Amazon are a little more untouched, but not by much. The old Seattle deal – Amazon treats you worse but pays you more – only hides the rot.
self-limiting beliefs
This belief system – that AI is useless and you’re not good enough to work on it – hurts three groups:
1. Companies.
They have taught their best engineers that innovation is not their job.
2. Engineer.
They remain stuck in resentment and self-doubt while their careers stall.
3. No one is trying to build anything new in Seattle.
Say “AI” and people will treat you like a threat or an idiot.
And the loop feeds itself:
Engineers don’t try because they think they can’t do it.
Companies don’t empower them because they believe they shouldn’t.
Bad products reinforce the perception that AI is doomed.
The spiral locks.
My former co-worker – a group of three who wish to remain anonymous – now believes she is unqualified for AI work and that AI is not worth doing anyway. She is wrong on both counts, but the culture made sure she would get there.
Seattle has as good talent as anywhere else. But in San Francisco, people still believe they can change the world—so sometimes they actually do.
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