Xbox Producer - “ChatGPT Therapy for Layoffs”
Nominee: Matt Turnbull, Executive Producer at Xbox Games Studios, for suggesting AI emotional support during mass layoffs.
Reported by: Charlotte Edwards, BBC Technology Reporter - July 8, 2025.
The Innovation
Following Microsoft's announcement of 9,000 layoffs, Xbox Games Studios Executive Producer Matt Turnbull had an inspirational vision: why waste money on expensive human counselors when artificial intelligence could provide emotional support to the newly unemployed? His innovative LinkedIn post suggested that ChatGPT and Copilot could “help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss.”
The Catastrophe
Turnbull's post, which included specific AI prompts for career planning and “emotional clarity,” was met with the kind of reception typically reserved for suggesting that people eat cake during a famine. Social media users called it “plain disgusting” and “speechless”-inducing, proving that human emotional intelligence can still outperform artificial intelligence in recognizing tone-deaf suggestions.
The Aftermath
The post was swiftly deleted, but not before screenshots preserved this moment of corporate AI evangelism for posterity. The incident occurred as Microsoft simultaneously cut thousands of jobs while investing $80 billion in AI data centers, creating a perfect storm of technological priorities meeting human resources.
Why They're Nominated
This exemplifies the AI Darwin Award principle of spectacularly misplaced confidence in artificial intelligence as a solution to fundamentally human problems. Suggesting that people process job loss trauma through chatbot conversations represents either breathtaking tone-deafness or groundbreaking faith in AI therapy - likely both.
Sources: BBC: Xbox producer tells staff to use AI to ease job loss pain