Hi, everybody.

Before we begin: The last time I sent out this newsletter, it was under the name Eva. Now I’m Ky (pronounced like “key lime pie”). Same me, just changing things up, as I do. Continuing to try and find the shoes that fit right, metaphorically.

On Friday, I published an article titled “Do I belong in tech anymore?” where I shared some of the emotions I’ve been feeling as AI has spread into every corner of work life. It’s about quitting, human communication, and the loss of an ideal.

I don’t publish writing that often, so when I shared this article, I expected a few friends to reply, at most. Instead, I’ve been absolutely flooded with comments, reposts, emails, and guestbook entries:

This resonates so deeply with where I am right now too.

This describes my experience in tech over the past 10 years so exactly that it's uncanny. Thanks for writing this so I have something to send people when I inevitably switch careers.

Thank you for the fantastic article on burnout. I really wanted to love tech but where it stands.. I dunno.

I feel every word of this.

Thank you for putting to words the feelings in my heart. i miss creativity and curiosity. i miss my job. i miss human connections.

Thank you for your post. I also quit with similar feelings. Not sure what's next but hopefully we'll find something worthwhile :)

this hit me like a freight train

Thanks so much for putting many of the things I've been feeling into clear words.

You can't separate use of this technology today from the companies and political projects it supports and normalises.

Thank you for putting into words what many in this industry are quietly suffering.

It has been about four years of asking myself if I still belong in tech. The past two years have confirmed that I don't.

There are so many people saying “hey, I feel this, too.” People who have been in tech for 5, 10, 20 years. People who are just embarking on a career after finishing their degree. People who really love—or loved—working and building tools to help others, but who feel grief and anger and uncertainty over the path we are charting as an industry.

This makes me feel a mix of sadness (it really is bleak out there!) and hope (there are many good, smart people wanting things to be different).

Many of us feel burnt out because we’re forced to prop up a venture capital-funded system that is committed to infinite growth no matter the cost, in a country that is crumbling, where gambling and fraud are rampant and meaningful accountability is scarce. AI is just one part of a web of interconnected sociopolitical issues that are draining all of us.

We all deserve better.

I’m thinking about something that writer and educator Ursula Wolfe-Rocca wrote in 2022:

None of us, alone, can fix this. But as long as each of us can work on pulling on a thread—consistently, bit by bit, over the months and years—we can build a better future for each other. I want that for us.

What is your thread?

In other news

• I created a variation of the font Atkinson Hyperlegible called Atkinson Hyperlegible Soft. It has nice, rounded corners.

• In an effort to de-Google my personal life, I moved to Fastmail and haven’t looked back. Worth it.

• If you’re really burnt out about tech stuff, can I recommend watching this Technology Connections video the remarkable power of renewable energy? If there’s anything that gives me hope for the future, it’s seeing the rapid advancements in technology like solar panels and heat pumps.

Good sites

• The HTML Review, Issue 5.

• Train Jazz

• Your Name in Landsat, NASA

Listening

• The intricacy of synthesized sound, or, how a few different waveforms and oscillators can combine. Really enjoying training my ear using Syntorial, which is what educational software looks like at its best. Also enjoying watching videos from Anthony Marinelli.

• Wendy Eisenberg’s self-titled album. Saw her live and it was really nice :)

• Radio!!! I love WFMU. Freeform radio. Weird stuff! Good! I love hearing a person talk about the songs they picked to play.

Watching

• Gunbuster (1988) — Before Neon Genesis Evangelion, Hideaki Anno worked on Gunbuster, a series about a mecha pilot who is forced to defend Earth from extraterrestrials. There’s some primo user interface porn throughout the movie—I’ve clipped the best ones and added them to my anime interfaces collection on are.na.

• The Pitt (2025) — It’s as good as everyone says.

Reading

• You Deserve a Tech Union by Ethan Marcotte (2023) — Organize your workplace!

• Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges (1962) — Reading this with my book club. Metafictional, surreal explorations. I love a good short story collection.

Sam cam

Here he is.

Finally

We’ve been working on expanding Namesake to support more states, including New York and Rhode Island. Namesake is one of my small pulling-on-the-thread things. If you have income to spare, please donate to help us pay for hosting and volunteers. We’re a small, trans-led team working to make the legal name and gender marker change process easier. Any support you can provide goes a long way. ♥︎

Until next time,

Ky