In a week where Microsoft has gutted 9,000 jobs, closed game studios and cancelled games – all while investing heavily in AI – you wouldn't assume it would be a good idea for a senior Xbox producer to peddle Artificial Intelligence as the best way for now-jobless Microsoft employees to overcome stress, but here we are.
Speaking in a now-deleted post on LinkedIn, Xbox Game Studios Executive Producer Matt Turnbull – an individual with games like Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Kinect Adventures and Forza Motorsport 4 to his name – suggested that staff impacted by the layoffs should turn to AI to ease their concerns and find a new job (thanks, VGC).
In a stunning lapse of self-awareness, Turnbull says:
"These are really challenging times, and if you’re navigating a layoff or even quietly preparing for one, you’re not alone and you don’t have to go it alone. I know these types of tools engender strong feelings in people, but I’d be remiss in not trying to offer the best advice I can under the circumstances. I’ve been experimenting with ways to use LLM Al tools (like ChatGPT or Copilot) to help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss."
He goes on to suggest potential prompts for people to use before signing off with a statement which, if we didn't know better, could swear was forged by ChatGPT's LLM:
"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.”
As you can imagine, Turnbull's post has gone down like a fart in a packed elevator, with Eric Smith – a Zenimax Online producer who was laid off this week – summing it up best:
"Jesus Christ, read the room dude"