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Shawn K., a 42-year-old American software engineer, had it all. Twenty years’ experience, a well-paid job (around 150,000 dollars a year, or nearly 140,000 euros), and a specialisation in the most promising technology sector of the moment: the metaverse. But since April 2024, his life has turned upside down.
A career shattered by algorithms
This isn’t Shawn K.’s first redundancy – he’s already been affected by the 2008 crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic – but this time the shock is more brutal. On the rare occasions when he does get an interview, he talks to… automated conversational agents.
Forced to sell his belongings and take on a series of odd jobs, he says he earns just a few hundred dollars a month, a far cry from his former standard of living. He now lives in a mini-caravan parked in the city centre, an image that starkly illustrates the decline of many digital workers.
He’s not denouncing AI, but the way companies use it
Contrary to what you might think, Shawn does not reject artificial intelligence. On the contrary, he describes himself as an “AI maximalist”. For him, the problem is not that the technology is evolving, but that companies are using it as an excuse to cut jobs without reconfiguring their organisation. He sees this as the start of a “social and economic tsunami”. In his view, the great wave of replacement is already underway, and the decision-makers are refusing to see it.
A global trend that does not spare France
The situation described by Shawn K. also resonates in France. In France, the technology sector is under pressure: some companies are laying off staff, while others are struggling to recruit hybrid profiles with expertise in both the development and integration of AI.
In 2024, more than 150,000 tech sector employees were made redundant in the United States. By 2025, there will already be more than 50,000 job losses, according to Layoffs.fyi. And while Europe has so far been relatively spared, automation models are becoming more widespread, including in French start-ups.
A future where AI writes (almost) all the code?
Worrying forecasts are adding to the concern. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has stated that by September 2025, AI could generate 90% of computer code. Mark Zuckerberg and other figures in the sector share this vision of a near future in which human developers will be in the minority.
Shawn K.’s story is a warning. It shows that the digital transition, if poorly managed, can lead to exclusion, job insecurity and a feeling of invisibility. Artificial intelligence is not the enemy, but its brutal integration into the economy without human vision could well leave thousands of talented people by the wayside.
