On January 14th, I got the dreaded HR call from Microsoft letting me know my position had been eliminated due to "business need".

As part of the Identity and Network Access organization, I found myself in the thick of the company’s security response on many fronts. I was responsible for the response and mitigation of several public incidents. I watched first-hand as the attack by Storm-0558 unfolded in the summer of 2023, catching the attention of the US Senate and eventually leading to a full post-mortem by CISA.

I thought deeply about problems related to securing data in large enterprises and preventing data exfiltration by sophisticated nation state attackers. It was exhilarating to be so close to such pressing problems.

I secretly hoped that this work was important enough that perhaps I’d skirt layoffs if the hammer was to come down. Of course, to have any sort of expectations around job security in this industry is incredibly foolish.

This isn’t my first go-around with tech job insecurity— I experienced my first layoff in April 2020, right in the thick of COVID, at a startup that was having issues with their run-rate based on pre-COVID financial assumptions. When I got the call from Microsoft (and subsequently found out most of my teammates and manager got the can), it wasn’t really a surprise as much as it was tacit resignation to a predictable situation.

In a way, it makes sense — why invest further in a team dedicated to improving the company's security posture when the current administration basically doesn't give a shit about the nation's security posture? Just a couple weeks ago Trump announced very publicly his intentions of going after the former head of CISA. Chris Krebs stood up for what's right and is being punished for it. Acting with principle truly seems to have so little currency in this era.

jaded and confused

At this point, I’m pretty cynical towards it all. That call in early January felt like foreshadowing of what was to come for US society at large — a slash and burn of real, caring humans caught in the thick of machinations of much more powerful, morally bankrupt people that are willing to poison the well of society to further enrich themselves.

I’ve been in tech for coming up on a decade, and I feel so deflated by the lack of values guiding the movers and shakers in tech. Ever since GPT 3.5 made waves and showed glimpses of a future with cheaper labor, the mask has been off and intentions are very clear that the craft of software engineering is no longer respected.

What sort of world are we building here? Why is the goal to get rid of humans? What will we be left with if the goal of AGI is met within the next few years? Perhaps most importantly, why is the industry's labor force just taking this completely lying down?

In 2023, writers in the SAG-AFTRA guild went on strike until they could receive assurances that their likeness would not be subsumed by artificial intelligence without proper compensation. Instead of collectively standing together and demanding a similar level of protection for the knowledge work so many of us built up over years / decades, we're begging for pittances and praying silently that our roles aren't eliminated.

#OpenToWork?

Perhaps it's a position of privilege, having enough savings and lack of dependents to not immediately try and seek new work.

But perhaps I am just sick and tired of waving around like a jester hoping to land a job that just may disappear the next day due to the whims and fancies of some exec that never valued me as a person to begin with.

I cannot in my right mind imagine picking up the phone / hopping on a Zoom call right now and acting all rah-rah about helping build some enterprise SaaS while watching our industry leaders do exactly zilch to un-fuck the current constitutional crisis unfolding in America.

Let's go over some recent current events:

• a little over a month ago, the Trump administration dubiously invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to detain and ship several Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, without evidence or due process. The administration has even admitted to sending one man erroneously, and yet he is still sitting in El Salvador.
• recurring reports keep surfacing of legal US residents being detained by ICE
• DOGE is collaborating with Palantir to create a "master" database aiding ICE in further "immigration enforcement"
• Just today, a federal judge was arrested by the FBI under the pretense that she aided a man evading immigration officials.

The substrate that made America one of the best places to conduct business is rotting from the inside. It is astounding to see so many powerful people who should know better throw this away for dubious short term gains.

I've been hesitant to speak out due to how employers may perceive me, but I cannot with good conscience just continue on as if this is business as usual. This is no way to live. I implore you, if you are in a position to speak out, please do.

I'm just one person, staring into the abyss wondering if we're past the point of no return. Consider this post my small contribution to the sprit of US ideals – I am a citizen, born and raised, and I am exercising my right to free speech to stand up against this current tyranny.

I do not accept the status quo of our leaders continuing to rake in billions, exploiting our labor at the same time they try to make us redundant through AI, and say nothing as this administration takes a sledgehammer to our democracy.

I hope those with true power to change our material conditions wake the fuck up, and soon. #endrant