In the wake of a layoff of 9,000 Microsoft employees, an Xbox producer has advised them to use AI to cope with their job loss.

In the story available here, Matt Turnbull, Executive Producer at Xbox Game Studios Publishing has looked at everything that has happened this week, particularly the bit where Xbox laid off a bunch of people at the same time Microsoft pledged to invest $80 billion in AI, and decided that not only does he need to give advice to those laid off, but that the advice should come in the form of…AI prompts, which will somehow give responses that will “help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss”.

Examples of the prompts he suggested include:

Career Planning Prompts:

“Act as a career coach. I’ve been laid off from a [role] in the game industry. Help me build a 30-day plan to regroup, research new roles, and start applying without burning out.”

“What kinds of game industry jobs could I pivot to with experience in [Production/Narrative/LiveOps/etc.]?”

Networking & Outreach

“Draft a friendly message I can send to old coworkers letting them know I’m exploring new opportunities.”

“Write a warm intro message for reaching out to someone at [studio name] about a job posting.”

Emotional Clarity & Confidence

“I’m struggling with imposter syndrome after being laid off. Can you help me reframe this experience in a way that reminds me what I’m good at?”

He adds this:

No Al tool is a replacement for your voice or your lived experience. But at a time when mental energy is scarce, these tools can help get you unstuck faster, calmer, and with more clarity.

And ends with this:

Stay kind, stay smart, stay connected.

The author of the article notes that “The Linkedin post has since been deleted, likely upon the advice of someone with a human heart.”

Ouch!

FWIW, I think the guy meant well, but posting a message to tell workers to use AI to cope with their job loss that was probably caused (at least in part) by AI? Not the best example of “reading the room”.

So, what do you think? What advice would you give to professionals laid off because of AI? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Image created using Microsoft Designer, using the term “robot IT person doing a faceplant when reading a memo”. What’s up with the skeleton in the background?!? 🤣

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