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The real issue is FAANG has paid top talent to sit around all day in meetings solely to blunt competitive risk of those people getting any real work done. Too

by nr2x 4y ago

The real issue is FAANG has paid top talent to sit around all day in meetings solely to blunt competitive risk of those people getting any real work done. Too bad for megacorps that the layoffs are just gasoline for a million AI startups being launched in the last two months.

rco8786 4y ago
This is speculative at best.
anonuser123456 4y ago
I’ve never met a top talent person that would just sit around all day waiting to get tasked. Maybe this is just a standard filter. Hire people that fit the top talent criteria. Then just wait and see what the accomplish. If the answer is nothing interesting, you counsel them out.
- matwood 4y ago
  It’s hyperbole of course, but more like work on inconsequential things. Big tech has sucked up talent to both prevent competitors from finding it and to stop them from starting their own companies. I expect these layoffs to lead to the next big tech in a decade.
  - nr2x 4y ago
    Next week at this rate!
  - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > more like work on inconsequential things I’m going to disagree with you on a definition basis. Top talent doesn’t stay still. Even if it once was top, it degrades. But more fundamentally, bullshitting isn’t a common attribute among people with and utilising a talent. (Apart from a talent for bullshitting. Go away.) FAANG wanted to do this. But they wound up with legions of nonperformers while the top talent found other places.
    - matwood 4y ago
      > Top talent doesn’t stay still. I agree eventually, but top (for some definition) talent are still people. Pay someone a lot of money to work on yet another chat app, and most people can convince themselves it's worthwhile for a time. Most people are risk adverse and if someone is good enough to get a job at a FAANG, that's the least risky way to end up financially secure.
- nr2x 4y ago
  Why do you think AI startups are coming out of the woodwork? Tons are from Google who wanted to ship and got frustrated. So it is observable imho.
  - nl 4y ago
    Google not shipping things is very different to just paying people to sit in meetings.
    - nr2x 4y ago
      Yet functionally identical.
  - anonuser123456 4y ago
    Those aren't the people who were sitting idle waiting for someone to give them something to do.
- anothernewdude 4y ago
  If there is no direction from the company all the top people I know would be building something for themselves.
candiddevmike 4y ago
Million AI startups that are no-moat frontends to ChatGPT
- carom 4y ago
  Intellectual prompterty.
  - candiddevmike 4y ago
    PromptOps
VirusNewbie 4y ago
where are you getting this information? I've never heard of an engineer working at a top tech company sitting around all day in meetings and not having deliverables. Maybe some people could do this for six months but they would be fired after that.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- yodsanklai 4y ago
  I'm sure that some very productive engineers could coast, but they would be eventually promoted and will have higher expectations. These big companies have perfected the art of management and know how to milk their employees.
HEmanZ 4y ago
I’ve worked at 40% of FAANG plus other similar tech companies and have never seen this.
sanderjd 4y ago
People seem convinced that these new AI startups are going somewhere and ... boy I dunno. Has anybody figured out the business model? It seems totally unproven to me. This stuff has high costs, so people better be able to pay for it, or peoples' attention better be even more monetizable than the current ads based business models. I'm really just not sure I'm seeing it! How many AI-infused subscription services are people really going to be buying?
- __pache__ 4y ago
  Have you heard of midjourney? The potential is insane ... Did you doubt Bitcoin as well?
  - Nullabillity 4y ago
    Has Bitcoin accomplished anything yet?
    - __pache__ 4y ago
      It's literally the fastest growing asset ever. LOL
      - Nullabillity 4y ago
        I thought it was implied but.. Has Bitcoin accomplished anything yet, besides making the grifters at the top of the pyramid rich?
        __pache__ 4y ago
        I'm at the top of the pyramid?! Gee, thanks!
  - sanderjd 4y ago
    Yes I have seen midjourney. Indeed it is a great example of what I'm talking about. What is the business model? Yes I started doubting Bitcoin about a decade ago and have been right about it ever since. (I've been more ambivalent about Ethereum and remain unsure whether my cynical phases or optimistic phases were closer to the mark.)

by nr2x 4y ago

rco8786 4y ago

This is speculative at best.

anonuser123456 4y ago

I’ve never met a top talent person that would just sit around all day waiting to get tasked. Maybe this is just a standard filter. Hire people that fit the top talent criteria. Then just wait and see what the accomplish. If the answer is nothing interesting, you counsel them out.

matwood 4y ago
It’s hyperbole of course, but more like work on inconsequential things. Big tech has sucked up talent to both prevent competitors from finding it and to stop them from starting their own companies. I expect these layoffs to lead to the next big tech in a decade.
- nr2x 4y ago
  Next week at this rate!
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > more like work on inconsequential things I’m going to disagree with you on a definition basis. Top talent doesn’t stay still. Even if it once was top, it degrades. But more fundamentally, bullshitting isn’t a common attribute among people with and utilising a talent. (Apart from a talent for bullshitting. Go away.) FAANG wanted to do this. But they wound up with legions of nonperformers while the top talent found other places.
  - matwood 4y ago
    > Top talent doesn’t stay still. I agree eventually, but top (for some definition) talent are still people. Pay someone a lot of money to work on yet another chat app, and most people can convince themselves it's worthwhile for a time. Most people are risk adverse and if someone is good enough to get a job at a FAANG, that's the least risky way to end up financially secure.
nr2x 4y ago
Why do you think AI startups are coming out of the woodwork? Tons are from Google who wanted to ship and got frustrated. So it is observable imho.
- nl 4y ago
  Google not shipping things is very different to just paying people to sit in meetings.
  - nr2x 4y ago
    Yet functionally identical.
- anonuser123456 4y ago
  Those aren't the people who were sitting idle waiting for someone to give them something to do.
anothernewdude 4y ago
If there is no direction from the company all the top people I know would be building something for themselves.

candiddevmike 4y ago

Million AI startups that are no-moat frontends to ChatGPT

carom 4y ago
Intellectual prompterty.
- candiddevmike 4y ago
  PromptOps

VirusNewbie 4y ago

where are you getting this information? I've never heard of an engineer working at a top tech company sitting around all day in meetings and not having deliverables. Maybe some people could do this for six months but they would be fired after that.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
yodsanklai 4y ago
I'm sure that some very productive engineers could coast, but they would be eventually promoted and will have higher expectations. These big companies have perfected the art of management and know how to milk their employees.

HEmanZ 4y ago

I’ve worked at 40% of FAANG plus other similar tech companies and have never seen this.

sanderjd 4y ago

People seem convinced that these new AI startups are going somewhere and ... boy I dunno. Has anybody figured out the business model? It seems totally unproven to me. This stuff has high costs, so people better be able to pay for it, or peoples' attention better be even more monetizable than the current ads based business models. I'm really just not sure I'm seeing it! How many AI-infused subscription services are people really going to be buying?

__pache__ 4y ago
Have you heard of midjourney? The potential is insane ... Did you doubt Bitcoin as well?
- Nullabillity 4y ago
  Has Bitcoin accomplished anything yet?
  - __pache__ 4y ago
    It's literally the fastest growing asset ever. LOL
    - Nullabillity 4y ago
      I thought it was implied but.. Has Bitcoin accomplished anything yet, besides making the grifters at the top of the pyramid rich?
      - __pache__ 4y ago
        I'm at the top of the pyramid?! Gee, thanks!
- sanderjd 4y ago
  Yes I have seen midjourney. Indeed it is a great example of what I'm talking about. What is the business model? Yes I started doubting Bitcoin about a decade ago and have been right about it ever since. (I've been more ambivalent about Ethereum and remain unsure whether my cynical phases or optimistic phases were closer to the mark.)