The AI ​​workplace revolution is here – and with it fear is growing

Hello and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, the Guardian’s US tech editor, writing to you as he cheers on Team USA at the Winter Olympics.

Introducing our new series on AI and the future of work

Throughout 2026, The Guardian will publish a series of stories on how artificial intelligence is impacting the modern world of work. We’re calling it Reworked: A series about what’s at stake when AI disrupts our workplaces.

Our first story was published this morning. Artificial intelligence, particularly the increasing automation of coding, has changed attitudes in the tech industry from one of relentless optimism and whimsical extras like ball pits in the office to one of toil and austerity. Arielle Pardes reports on San Francisco’s new work ethic:

Over the past year, as the magical dust of artificial intelligence has settled in the City by the Bay, the mood among tech workers seems to be different indeed. The excitement of a new era of technology – and all the money that comes with it…