Sam Altman Thanks Programmers for Their Effort, Says Their Time Is Over
Futurism
“I have so much gratitude to people who wrote extremely complex software character-by-character. It already feels difficult to remember how much effort it really took. Thank you for getting us to this point”
Sam Altman17 March 2026- What you'll lose3/5
A craft, thanked in the past tense.
- Condescension3/5
A thank-you note to people still employed.
- Tone-deafness4/5
Posted during a wave of tech layoffs.
- Doom1/5
Read by many as a eulogy.
- Hypocrisy0/5
None.
Full time11 pitchforksof a possible 25
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The occasion
Post on X (@sama), 17 March 2026.
Context
Altman posted a thank-you to programmers while AI coding tools were being credited with, and blamed for, changes in software work during a wave of tech layoffs. He did not say programming is finished; the 'time is over' reading is Futurism's framing.
Crowd reaction
Widespread criticism
TechCrunch rounds up replies including 'You're welcome. Nice to know that our reward is our jobs being taken away'; Futurism says the remarks drew an overwhelmingly negative reaction and calls the post tone-deaf.