Reading up on Block
10 deep · digging since jan 29
- Jack Dorsey is taking on Slack with Buzz, a group chat platform for teams and their AI agents
Jack Dorsey’s Block launches Buzz, an open‑source, model‑agnostic group chat that lets humans and AI agents collaborate alongside Slack‑style workflows and GitHub integration.
- Block - Introducing Buzz: where humans and agents work together
Block launches Buzz, an open‑source Nostr‑based workspace where humans and AI agents collaborate as peers with shared context and flexible tooling.
- 10x is the new floor - by Nikunj Kothari - Balancing Act
AI tools have raised the baseline for individual productivity to the former 10x level, splitting the talent market and pressuring companies that rely on average performers.
- Opinion | I Worked for Block. Its A.I. Job Cuts Aren’t What They Seem. - The New York Times
Block's recent A.I.-related job cuts are argued to be a pretext for standard cost-cutting layoffs, masking traditional downsizing as technological progress.
- Layoffs at Block
Block cuts 40% of staff, citing AI-driven efficiency, but HN commenters suspect overhiring and poor stock performance.
- Inside the Rolling Layoffs at Jack Dorsey’s Block
Block employees describe a deteriorating culture with ongoing rolling layoffs, mandatory generative AI use, and performance anxiety after hundreds were fired.
- AI-Assisted Development at Block
Block Engineering's AI Champions program and repo readiness initiatives boosted AI-authored code by 69% and time savings by 37% in three months.
Takes
AI can build an app in an afternoon. But getting it safely into other people's hands is a whole other challenge! This is the problem that I've been working on these past few months. I'm proud to finally share how we solved it with Block App Kit! https://engineering.block.xyz/blog/from-localhost-to-launched-safely-shipping-apps-that-anyone-can-build
@jedwards_27
yes we over-hired during covid because i incorrectly built 2 separate company structures (square & cash app) rather than 1, which we corrected mid 2024. but this misses all the complexity we took on through lending, banking, and BNPL. and that we’re now targeting $2M+ gross… https://t.co/uaKgTdzGob
@jack
we're making @blocks smaller today. here's my note to the company.####today we're making one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company: we're reducing our organization by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. that means over 4,000 of you are…
@jack