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[Cert.in.Death]

Legal is usually the first to get hit at big corps. when layoffs happen (I should know, it happened to me). They have a higher salary demand and free up capital if there are cash flow issues.

But Xbox is bloated beyond belief. MS would do well to try and push the "studio restructuring" angle when making the announcements, but the press will likely eviscerate them anyway.

 

[jm89]

Well they need the money from somewhere to fund Phil,booty and Greenbergs promotions.

 

[Klayzer]

Well they need the money from somewhere to fund Phil,booty and Greenbergs promotions.

Funny how layoffs hardly ever affect executives. And on the rare occasion it does, they leave with a big fat check.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Phil and Sarah Bond are the most incompetent duo of idiots you could possibly put in their positions, which is why nobody is surprised that their empire continues to crumble.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

I wonder which studios or areas. Maybe somebody from the hardware division?

 

[IDKFA]

AI will replace all.

I'm convinced we're a few years at best away from mass unemployment.

If AI does result in making millions redundant, then government's need to really consider UBI.

 

[ProtoByte]

Is it AI or that Microsoft is a bloated organization, Xbox included?

 

[Zacfoldor]

Already happening. And we're absolutely not ready for it.


If you lost your job because it was being replaced by someone else, you'd probably dislike that person. It is understandable that people whose jobs are being replaced by AI feel negatively towards it.

And yeah, all the AI and ML technologies and tools are great, but it's still going to have a massive impact on employment and no one who is championing it cares about that because it means they get to spend less on salary.

Imagine this scenario:
You work for 20 years in a specialized role. You're making ~ $150k a year. All of a sudden huge chunks of your job can be automated, so your team is cut in half. You lose your job. What do you think your chances of finding another job that pays close to that is?

Meta is reportedly looking to automate 90% of its risk management tasks. A lot of those people are going to lose their jobs. When other companies see Meta successfully do this, they're going to copy it, which means the market for that job disappears.

Again, AI is not the devil. Lots of amazing things are going to come out of it. But I think it's shortsighted to not consider the massive unemployment rates in highly skilled, highly specialized tech jobs that's going to hit us over the next few years.

Thanks for your response. Very detailed writeup. I do agree with the majority of it.

To me the reason I want it to spread isn't becasue I get to pay people less.

I think there is the same urgency to spreading AI as there would be to reopen a bridge or reconnect electricity to someone's home or reopen a hospital.

AI will inevitably lead to life saving care and also cures for many known medical conditions. Slowing AI down is also slowing down those cures. It is slowing down companionship for the lonely. It is slowing down assistance for the elderly and infirm.

I just think it is too important to slow it down for economic reasons. At the end of the day people's lives are more important than their money. There has never been a more easy problem for humanity to solve than "we don't have enough work to go around." It's a very good problem to have. However, I understand the fear and the very real threat of job loss. For AI to become a leading technology in business society needs to change. The old guard won't let society change this gen, so there will definitely be a few hard years until the next gen takes over and addresses the issues caused by AI replacing jobs. Also damn, sorry about the derail everybody@!

 

[Starhowl]

Probably just wankers in the office, a part of them doing "group sessions" to strengthen office relations..

 

[Thief1987]

AI will inevitably lead to life saving care and also cures for many known medical conditions. Slowing AI down is also slowing down those cures. It is slowing down companionship for the lonely. It is slowing down assistance for the elderly and infirm.

Yeah, yeah. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

if your job is computer/software based? inevitably. it's simply the nature of the beast...

everything will be impacted. even Doctors and surgeons.

 

[LordCBH]

If AI does result in making millions redundant, then government's need to really consider UBI.

In the US it'll either A) never happen, or B) will be made so that those receiving it can't afford anything

 

[Loomy]

Thanks for your response. Very detailed writeup. I do agree with the majority of it.

To me the reason I want it to spread isn't becasue I get to pay people less.

I think there is the same urgency to spreading AI as there would be to reopen a bridge or reconnect electricity to someone's home or reopen a hospital.

AI will inevitably lead to life saving care and also cures for many known medical conditions. Slowing AI down is also slowing down those cures. It is slowing down companionship for the lonely. It is slowing down assistance for the elderly and infirm.

I just think it is too important to slow it down for economic reasons. At the end of the day people's lives are more important than their money. There has never been a more easy problem for humanity to solve than "we don't have enough work to go around." It's a very good problem to have. However, I understand the fear and the very real threat of job loss. For AI to become a leading technology in business society needs to change.

Yeah, I do not want to slow it down. If anything, we need to responsibly accelerate it in areas where it could have very big and very immediate impact. I am 100% for the potential of AI to improve lives, processes, etc.

My problem is that right now there's zero thought being put behind the human cost. We're entering an age of even further exploitation. Except this time, unlike with the industrial revolution, there's no factory jobs for people to be trained in and moved into.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Is it AI or that Microsoft is a bloated organization, Xbox included?

both

 

[KenaiPhoenix]

The worse thing is that probably the people that are getting the door showed, arent the ones that should also be let go: over payed manager with departments like HR with emphasis in cultural correctness, Creative directors are there to fill legal quotas or whose peak attribution was "Lets make this CoD/Fortnite/LoL", but developers.

I really keep thinking that gamedevelopment just become too bloated and now it is hard to just stay on green.

 

[IDKFA]

In the US it'll either A) never happen, or B) will be made so that those receiving it can't afford anything

I could see that leading to civil unrest pretty quickly.

 

[damidu]

tell me phil is safe

 

[reinking]

tell me phil is safe

Co-pilot seems to think so for now...

Phil Spencer's position at Microsoft Gaming appears stable for now, but the company is undergoing significant restructuring. Microsoft has been making layoffs in its gaming division, with reports suggesting that more job cuts could be coming by the end of June. While executives are often less affected by layoffs, the shifting priorities within Microsoft Gaming—such as a reduced emphasis on hardware—have led to uncertainty among employees.

Spencer himself has acknowledged "challenging days" ahead, particularly following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which resulted in thousands of job losses. However, there is no indication that his role is directly at risk at this time.

 

[reinking]

Is it AI or that Microsoft is a bloated organization, Xbox included?

 

[Nydius]

I'm convinced we're a few years at best away from mass unemployment.

That's why I have been telling my son and any of his friends who will listen to strongly consider trade skills. There will almost always be a need for skilled trade workers like electricians and plumbers and HVAC techs. Those are probably the last jobs that will be impacted by the AI takeover because they still need hands-on physical work. But fields like programming right now feel risky af to venture into because there's already a ton of CS/CIS graduates out there, many of whom are already looking for new gigs, and AI is like a cloud looming over the entire industry.

Edit:

If AI does result in making millions redundant, then government's need to really consider UBI.

Knowing the US, if they ever considered doing a UBI, it would probably be an almost unliveable amount. Kinda like what my fully disabled wife gets as SSDI despite having a 26 year solid work history, with the last decade-plus as a decently paid medical office professional. If I were to calculate her SSDI benefit amount as if it was a 40 hour/week job, it's the equivalent of making $9.46 an hour.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

AI is without a doubt the greatest tool mankind has ever created and it will improve all of our lives in the end so I'm just wondering why we hate it so much.

Sorry, but this sounds like AI gen text or some borderline religious zealot stuff.

AI is a dumb copy machine that cannot and will not replace human creativity. It's impossible.

Some reasons to hate AI.

— AI makes people dumber. When you rely on a machine for decision making, you become an automaton. People are becoming more stupid every year. AI is designed to speedrun this process.

— AI is the creativity killer. Nothing new can be "created" by it. It just copies other people's work and iterates from there without any awareness of what it is doing.

— AI is ultimately controlled by a bunch of "not-very-good-people" to say the least. They are all transhumanist psychos. It's insanity to believe that people who hate humankind may create a tool to make our lives better.


So, there are bigger reasons than massive layoffs to stand against the general use of this tool. This is as bad an idea as the infamous "neural chip". It's unbelievable that some people would put their lives in the hands of megalomaniac cunts.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

tell me phil is safe

Phil is Xbox, Xbox is Phil.

 

[semiconscious]

everything will be impacted. even Doctors and surgeons.

impacted, yes. replaced? not quite as soon as stem workers...

 

[bitbydeath]

I like to stay positive and hope it is just the woke people that get the boot as a good dose of karma.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Would be incredible if the Xbox workers doing all those cheesy promos and gimmicky products kept their jobs.

 

[Clear]

They discovered Sony genius plan of shows without first party getting As and praise.. so time to close some more studios.

Nearly all of Microsoft Studios WERE third parties before they bought their parent publishers. And then laid off a load of people!

 

[yogaflame]

The sad state of xbox console brand and worse MS continues to double down on DEI and there support for pride woke agenda.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Companies are about layoffs

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Again, AI is not the devil. Lots of amazing things are going to come out of it. But I think it's shortsighted to not consider the massive unemployment rates in highly skilled, highly specialized tech jobs that's going to hit us over the next few years.

= more competition.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

AI will replace all.

Not me

 

[ResilientBanana]

And realized all those games were coming to PC so they are deciding to let 3rd party do the heavy lifting?

Eh, but Steam though. Who in their right mind would buy a game on the Xbox PC store? I'd buy a game on Epic before I bought one there. Thats saying a lot.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

The sad state of xbox console brand and worse MS continues to double down on DEI and there support for pride woke agenda.

 

[yogaflame]

Now we know why MS xbox is at this fallen state. Bias and double standard DEI because they say its inclusive but they all to step on persons belief and conscience and cannot speak up against force and push woke agendas, and hiring not base on talent but on political agenda. Anyway, they reap what they sow, but it sad because xbox 1 to xbox 360 was very good.