Humans still matter, but only if they’re safe to speak
And what it has to do with AI, hiring, and speaking up at work
Hey there,
Lately I’ve been obsessed with HBO’s The Rehearsal.
It’s one of the weirdest shows I’ve ever seen, and also one of the most honest.
Nathan Fielder builds absurdly detailed simulations to help people rehearse difficult conversations. At first, it feels like comedy. Then it hits you: he’s exposing how deeply afraid we are of saying the hard things. How silence becomes a survival strategy. How whole systems collapse because no one feels safe to speak.
Season 2 gets into this in a way I didn’t expect. Turns out pilots in the US can lose their license if they admit to anxiety, depression, autism, or anything that suggests they’re “not fit to fly.” So they don’t talk about it. They keep flying. And the fear builds.
That’s not a mental health issue. That’s a design failure.
And it’s not just aviation. In startups, in leadership, in hiring. We reward silence in the name of speed, until something breaks. I’ve been there. For a long time, no one on my team would challenge me. I thought I was doing great. I wasn’t. It took therapy and a lot of hard conversations to change that.
We talk a lot about AI in this newsletter. But the bigger question is: who gets to speak, and who feels they have to stay quiet?
This week’s stories all point to the same thing: humans still matter. But only if we build systems where they’re safe to show up fully.
Let’s get into it.
🌐 News Shortlist
1. Google’s CEO says AI won’t kill dev jobs
Recap: At the Bloomberg Tech Summit, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said something rare for a Big Tech exec: AI isn’t replacing engineers. It’s making them more valuable.
Now that AI can handle the boilerplate, companies are doubling down on real product builders. Google’s hiring more devs, not fewer.
I’m seeing it myself.
Even as a recruitment business, we’ve started hiring engineers for my own team. Not because we’re launching an app, but because one sharp dev with the right AI setup can unlock 5 broken workflows in a single sprint. Automations. Lead gen. Ops tooling.
All without asking marketing to make a deck first.
So no, AI won’t kill engineering.
It might actually flood the market with new demand.
Because now, every company can benefit from one great engineer, not just tech giants.
Smart founders are already making the shift.
Even if they don’t have $75 billion to spend like Google.
Advice:
If you’re running a lean team, hiring one good engineer might save you from hiring five other people.
Use AI to spot the inefficiencies, then bring in someone who can actually fix them.
Don’t wait for scale to start thinking like a tech company, no matter what kind of business you have.
2. Klarna brings humans back
Recap: Klarna cut 2,500 roles. Replaced most of them with AI. Now it’s rehiring humans for VIP customer support.
CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski says human interaction is becoming a luxury product.
AI handles the repetitive stuff. But when you want white-glove service, you’ll talk to a person.
This isn’t Klarna backing off AI. It’s Klarna refining the mix.
They’re consolidating software, boosting comp for top talent, and betting big on professionals who can use AI, not fear it.
Even Siemiatkowski uses ChatGPT to keep up with his own team.
It’s not a reversal. It’s an upgrade.
Cut the bloat, automate the obvious, then pay real money for humans who actually add value.
Advice:
AI will take the bottom layer. That’s a given.
But that creates a bigger spotlight on the humans left standing.
So if you're in support, sales, or ops: learn the tools, get sharper, and make yourself the premium tier.
Because companies aren’t cutting people. They’re cutting redundancy.
3. LinkedIn’s CEO just got a promotion. And a test.
Recap: Microsoft just handed Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn, control over Microsoft Office and Copilot AI. He’ll now oversee the productivity tools used by literally half the working world.
Let that sink in: the LinkedIn guy now runs Microsoft Office.
Yes, Office is apparently still a thing. And it’s about to get way more AI.
It might sound random, but it’s not.
LinkedIn has quietly become one of Microsoft’s best bets. It’s profitable, growing, and getting smarter with AI every month.
This move says two things:
Microsoft wants tighter integration between LinkedIn and Office.
They trust Roslansky to lead the next AI chapter.
It also might be a retention play.
When someone runs a $17B business and still crushes it, you either promote them or risk losing them to Meta or OpenAI.
Speaking of: remember how OpenAI hired Instacart CEO Fidji Simo last month to lead all applications? Same vibe.
Tech giants are picking storytellers. People who can scale teams, yes. But also make the product feel human and trustworthy.
Advice:
AI is rewriting the org chart.
If you're building teams, don’t just look for technical horsepower. Look for leaders who bring clarity, trust, and narrative.
And if you're aiming for leadership yourself, start by showing you can make complex things easy to follow. That’s what gets you promoted from a $17B P&L to running Microsoft Office.
🔎 Remote Jobs Shortlist
These are the hot new openings of this week.
Even if you’re not on the hunt, it’s worth seeing what roles great companies are opening and what that says about where things are headed. Check out the full list here.
1. Product Designer
This product team just hit reset. Small, focused, and building the new foundation of a fintech platform that’s actually used by millions.
You won’t just ship screens. You’ll lead your own design work, shape the roadmap, and turn research into real impact, side by side with a PM and another senior designer.
You should have serious product instincts, experience in startups, and strong research chops. Spanish-speaking, Latin America–based, and ready to own the work without waiting for permission.
💵 $3,000 - $4,500 USD
📍LatAm Remote
2. Growth Marketing Specialist
This fast-growing mental health startup is quietly becoming a category leader in Spanish-speaking markets. They’ve built a product people genuinely love, and now they need someone to help the world find out.
They’re hiring a digital marketing lead to own both paid and organic growth. You’ll define the strategy, manage the funnel, and work across content, SEO, and performance channels.
You’ve probably gone from agency to operator. You know how to scale traffic from 5K to 50K. And you ask the right questions: CAC, domain rating, backlink plan. If that’s you, let’s talk.
💵 $3,000 - $4,000 USD
📍Colombia
3. Senior Fullstack Engineer
This client is building the next generation of fintech onboarding. Faster flows, cleaner code, and real user impact. They’ve got big growth and bigger expectations.
Now they’re hiring a senior fullstack engineer: someone who leans front-end but can ship across the stack. You’ll own core parts of the product, especially the onboarding experience.
Ideal fit: you've built in startups, thrive in ambiguity, and actually want to be part of a team. Bonus points if you've touched Go, React, or anything that smells like TypeScript. Fintech XP helps.
💵$5,000 - $8,000 USD
📍Colombia
That’s it for this week.
If you’re building teams, especially in Latin America, remember: great hiring isn’t just about skills. It’s about context, culture, and trust.
That’s why we write this. Not for clicks. For better decisions.
And if you’re ready to hire, schedule some time with me.
Until next time,
Joseph Burns
CEO & Founder, Lupa
Never heard about The Rehearsal, will be checking it out :)