The author, a former senior engineer, was laid off after Fable/Mythos AI reached sufficient capability to replace human engineers. As the last engineer on staff, Fable was cheaper than his compensation package. Leadership appeared willing to coast until an M&A event.
He reflects on the trauma of knowing layoffs were coming, including attending a house party with two reports who would be laid off the next week. The experience has affected his sleep and mental health, with many in his DevOps network also facing layoffs. While frontier models aren't yet fully capable of replacing experienced engineers, they're being deployed in ways that eliminate human roles.
The author notes AI lacks the product judgment, foresight, and taste that experienced leaders bring to decision-making, yet companies like Shopify are still choosing machine-coded solutions.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing