Predictions and Conspiracy Theories
19 min
AI Indulgence: Why Block Fired 4,000 People on a Record Profit Day
On February 26, Jack Dorsey fired 4,000 people—40% of Block—simultaneously with the report of record profits. Shares soared by 25%. Dorsey calls this an AI transformation and predicts that within a year all companies will do the same. But behind the appealing narrative lies another story: a workforce tripled in the COVID frenzy, shares 80% below their five-year peak, and the coding agent Goose,