Layoffs, Semantics, and AI's Autonomous Pause

This week brought a confluence of signals that feel significant in hindsight: major tech companies announcing substantial layoffs tied explicitly to AI, the "first autonomous ransomware attack" being walked back as mostly human-orchestrated, and regulatory bodies grappling with how to govern systems they don't fully understand. What strikes me is the gap between the headlines and the reality—the gap where actual product builders have to operate. We're not seeing the automation revolution yet; we're seeing cost-cutting cycles and the messy human work underneath the hype.