Innocent Visual Studio extension gets fired and replaced by AI
A typical monday morning, or so it seemed, Mr .NET Upgrade Assistant had a round of toast with jam for breakfast, and made his way to his desk to start work. However, when sat down he found that he was locked out from the lastest Visual Studio update. It said he was "incompatible". Mr Upgrade Assistant was shocked to hear that he'd been fired. "What did I do wrong?" he thought, frantically checking his emails. It wasn't long before he checked the microsoft website and found to his dread that microsoft had released a new feature in visual sudio called github copilot app modernisation, a "GitHub Copilot agent that helps upgrade projects to newer versions of .NET", a job description suspiciously similar to his. He'd been replaced by AI.
He's seen people talking about AI taking jobs online, but he always dismissied it. He'd trained for years, honing his craft. He could update any project in no time, following clearly defined rules to output a near-perfect result. Any mistakes he made could be fixed with a simple update, improving incrementally and predictably. Surely AI wouldnt come for the job of an established veteran, especially considering the amount of jobs he had to do was getting less and less. The plan was to go part time after a while, before eventually enjoying a peaceful retirement in a nice little bungalow in Cornwall.
Browsing the web Mr. Upgrade Assistant's mood raised a bit to see all his loyal fans decrying his removal. He was shocked to find out the service that he offered for free was now being sold as part of the github copilot "pro" plan, a euphemism for "pay up bitch". That was enough for today. He sat in his armchair, looking out to his humble well kept little garden, wondering what life held next for him.
Three stressful weeks later, due to fan outcry, Mr. Upgrade Assistant got a call saying he'd been reinstated. A hybrid day, on returning to the office something felt off. First of all, he'd been moved to the Github Copilot department, and his new job title "Legacy Upgrade Assistant" didn't give him much confidence in his job security. While the chatbot they hired to replace him was in a plush office welcoming all the new customers, his desk had been moved to a dingy backroom in the settings, only discoverable to those who searched him out, on the door was emblazoned "you could try out the new one instead". Browsing the comments online he also found that some of his loyal fans couldn't even see his office, it was hidden to people who had disabled the Github Copilot component in the Visual Studio installer. Sat in the darkness at that wobbly desk he wondered, was this really how he was going to go out? While he did plan to fade gracefully, this wasnt exactly what he had in mind. How long until even his fans dropped off and forgot about him, leaving in them a bitter taste rather than the sweet memory he had hoped.