While the mood on the ground is bleak, one senior executive at the Xbox Game Studios Publishing division chose to offer a surprising, if not baffling, solution: turn to artificial intelligence, he said; it can help you cope with the depression of being laid off.
‘The best advice I can give’
In a LinkedIn post that garnered widespread attention after being shared by game developer Brandon Sheffield on the social network Bluesky, Matt Turnbull, a senior producer at Xbox, wrote: “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.”
According to him, he has recently been exploring ways to integrate AI-based tools, such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, to help laid-off workers deal with the emotional and cognitive burden that comes with losing a job.
Turnbull explained that he created a collection of prompts that could ease the burden on those feeling overwhelmed. Among other things, he suggested using AI as a personal career coach—asking it to help identify new job directions, improve résumés, or even rewrite the “About Me” section on LinkedIn.
Some of Turnbull’s recommendations include ready-made texts that can be sent to former colleagues or industry contacts, such as: “Hey, just wanted to let you know I’m exploring new opportunities,” or a message expressing interest in a new job.
But the moment the post veered into the almost surreal came in a section Turnbull titled “Emotional Clarity and Self-Confidence.” There, he suggested turning to emotionless AI tools to help cope with feelings of worthlessness. One recommended prompt: “I’m struggling with imposter syndrome after being laid off. Can you help me reframe this experience in a way that reminds me what I’m good at?”
The backlash was swift
Perhaps Turnbull’s comments might have been received differently under other circumstances. There’s been talk about the benefits of consulting AI tools, even in the realm of mental health support (though typically with tools specifically designed for this purpose, rather than general-purpose chatbots like ChatGPT). But given the current situation at Microsoft and Xbox, many found the advice tone-deaf.
The original post has since been deleted and is no longer viewable on LinkedIn. However, on Bluesky, the responses came quickly and harshly. One commenter wrote, “Gross.” Another added, “This is completely detached from reality. I’m sure he meant well, but what the hell was he thinking?”
Turnbull himself acknowledged that “these tools provoke strong emotions in people”—a statement that could be seen as disconnected, especially considering the intensity of criticism facing a company that simultaneously pushes the development and adoption of AI while conducting wave after wave of mass layoffs.
At a time when many view artificial intelligence as a threat to jobs, human creativity, and even mental health, the suggestion to use it as a support tool for freshly laid-off workers—especially when coming from a top company executive—felt to many like insensitivity, or worse: mockery of the unfortunate.