The Archive.
Every piece we've published, in reverse chronological order. Reporting, essays, and field notes on AI and the work people are actually being asked to do.
- No. 047
The Quiet Layoff: How AI Restructuring Hides Behind Hiring Freezes
Three quarters in, the language has changed. "Reorg" became "alignment," "headcount reduction" became "natural attrition." The numbers, when you stack them, tell a different story — and the people inside them don’t recognize the press release.
18 min · Layoffs - No. 046
What "AI-First" Actually Means When Your Manager Says It
A taxonomy of the phrase, from the merely aspirational to the budget-line-item kind that quietly precedes a reorganization.
11 min · Transitions - No. 045
The Senior Engineer Who Stopped Writing Code
She still ships. The thing she ships is no longer the thing she once shipped, and she is unsure what to call her job in mixed company.
14 min · Practice - No. 044
Three Industries Where the Augmentation Story Is Failing
Legal research, technical recruiting, customer support. The pitch was that AI would augment workers. In these three sectors, the data has stopped pretending.
9 min · Policy - No. 043
The Compensation Reset Nobody Is Discussing
Bands have not shifted in public. They have shifted inside the offer letters. We talked to nine recruiters.
12 min · Layoffs - No. 042
Letter from a Designer Who Trained Her Replacement
"They were transparent with me. I appreciated that. I am still angry."
9 min · Essays - No. 041
The Manager’s New Job Is Reading Outputs
Three middle managers describe their week. The work that remains is not the work they were trained to do.
8 min · Practice - No. 040
Why HR Is the First Department to Disappear
An interview with a Chief People Officer who has been told to halve her team by Q3, and the contractor selling her the tool that will do it.
17 min · Policy