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AI's (non-)layoffs, e-ink screens and the Sizzler Say

Plus: I have to issue a Game Boy-related correction

Author

Cam Wilson
October 03, 2025

Edition 2432

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The News

Fears (and maybe some people’s hopes) that AI will replace mass labour haven’t come true so far

AI hasn’t created any significant job losses yet, according to a new Yale study (Yale, Guardian write-up). The economic research says the US job market is seeing some changes, but those appear to pre-date ChatGPT and aren’t historically that significant. It does, however, note some newer data showing jobs dropping off for entry level employees — a trend that had been noticed elsewhere (Forbes).

The Sizzle: Here are two interesting articles about AI and work that shaped my thinking recently: 

  • The first was a blog from someone who made the case that, contrary to the hype of AI turning people into geniuses, LLMs are not that helpful to junior coders because they don’t have the capability to review and guide the output. Meanwhile, more experienced coders find that it is a force multiplier.

  • The second was this newsletter about how AI hasn’t replaced radiologists despite claims that their work would be most exposed to automation. This is because much of a radiologist’s job isn’t just reading scans, flaws within models and the fact that increased productivity from AI led to more demand for scans. 

I don’t think we’re going to see mass layoffs caused by AI (at least not with the current architecture of generative AI). There’s definitely going to be some jobs lost, some business guys are going to do layoffs citing AI, but it’s not “AI is totally replacing labor” yet. 

There is a cruel irony, however, that Silicon Valley has spent the last ten years telling kids they should learn how to code, and now all those jobs are drying up.

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

E-ink and how the future becomes the present faster than you realise

When I was walking around Paddington, Sydney, the other day, I noticed that the bus signs were actually e-ink displays with the schedule. 

As it turns out, this was first trialled in 2018 (!) and so has been around for ages, so it’s pretty shameful that I only just bothered to pay attention to this now.

But how cool! I remember reading Engadget back in the early 2000s when e-ink e-readers were first starting to come out and thinking that it felt like a technology from the future: screens that looked like paper on devices that would work for months without needing to be charged. (Realising this is now two decades ago makes me feel like a fossil).

I’d love to hear if you’ve had a similar experience: what’s a technology that you are surprised that has just become normal or common in everyday life? Tell me!

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

The Sizzler Say: digital IDs, Microsoft Teams hate and hearing from the eSafety Commissioner via LinkedIn

As always, if you wanna get involved (or even be able to read what’s on Slack) you can join the Slack server and forum via these links.

  • Far from getting blowback, it seems like a lot of Sizzlers aren’t alarmists about the idea of digital IDs. I got some good messages and emails from people pointing out how the term has become an umbrella for similar but distinct concepts of proving your identity and proving that you are allowed to do certain things i.e. the difference between getting into a bar with your driver’s licence and using your driver’s licence to start up a bank account.

    Here’s a good email about digital IDs in Australia that I got from an anonymous Sizzler who deals with this stuff professionally: 

    “From the perspective of Digital identities and the Digital ID legislation that came into effect  last year, it relates to creating a digital identity for interacting online. (myID with government services is the example)... In terms of using a "digital ID" in the real world,  this is actually a verifiable credential (VC) and if I am correct, these are NOT covered or regulated in the Digital ID Act. This would require legislative change to enable such things.” Confusing, right? 

  • The Sizzle Slack bonded over how much they hate Microsoft Teams.

  • I included a link to the news in an edition this week, but the forum is also discussing Spotify rolling out lossless audio in Australia.

  • On Electronic Arts’ massive, highly-leveraged buyout, Sizzler artywah shared on Slack a post made by a video game designer legend about the news. 

  • While not technically from a Sizzler, I figured I’d share that the eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant had a strong reaction to Wikimedia Australia’s fears that it technically could come under the teen social media ban.


    I think the piece makes it pretty clear that it’s unlikely Wikipedia would qualify, but it’s the lack of certainty (on a matter that could result in a $49.5 million fine!) that is making the organisation’s life hard. You will see that I wasn’t able to get an answer either.

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Leftovers

Australia:

  • YouTube has ‘three legal grounds’ for challenging inclusion in Australia’s under-16s social media ban (The Guardian)

  • Tech Council holds member talks on copyright to find path forward on AI, data centres (Capital Brief, $)

  • Experts cast last minute doubt on govt’s online age assurance (InnovationAus, $)

  • ‘Loathsome and rancid’: SXSW Sydney gets a bucketing (InnovationAus, $)

  • Tesla Model Y rebounds to post highest monthly sales since March last year (The Driven)

Rest of the world:

  • Swift, top global banks working on blockchain-based overhaul (Reuters)

  • Strava sues Garmin over ‘Segments’ and ‘Heatmap’ features (Lifehacker Australia)

  • U.S. cyber agency warns of dire consequences from government shutdown (The Washington Post, $)

  • OpenAI Completes Share Sale at Record $500 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg, $)

  • Perplexity’s Comet AI browser is now free, Max users get a new background assistant (TechCrunch)

  • Historian uses AI to help identify Nazi in notorious Holocaust image (The Guardian)

  • Austria's armed forces switch to LibreOffice (Heise Online)

Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Oh, Also

I have to issue a Game Boy-related correction

I owe you all an apology. In July, I shared a link to a WIRED article titled No, of Course You Can’t Actually Play the New Lego Game Boy.

While I was not personally responsible for publishing this, I need to take responsibility for amplifying it. I should have known that someone would immediately turn the non-playable-device into a playable device. I recommend actually checking out how Natalie did it - very neat. 

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Bargains

Electrical & electronics

Computing

The End

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The Sizzle is created on Gadigal land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.

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