# Challenge and opportunity > Source: > Published: 2026-06-01 15:00:00+00:00 # Challenge and opportunity I am back! Ten days “offline”. For me that just means *online* without talking to anyone. My break came at a time of high industry (and personal) stress. Seeing talented people lose motivation bums me the hell out. [Reach out and say thanks]- Kevin Powell Thank you to those who reached out whilst I was offline :) Catching up on [RSS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS)[educators question their worth](https://webweekly.email/archive/web-weekly-193/) makes me angry. Seeing more people cite [“AI”](https://dbushell.com/ai/)[exit tech](https://dbushell.com/notes/2026-04-25T06:26Z/) boils my blood! AI was the last straw. Have you heard of that island off India where the indigenous population kills any outsiders fool-hardy enough to land? They are doing the rest of us a favor by preserving a way of life we may need again someday, or at the very least should not want to see completely extinguished. [I Am Retiring from Tech to Live Offline]- Chad Whitacre The [chatbox psychosis](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/27/tech-ceos-are-apparently-suffering-from-ai-psychosis/) epidemic remains in full force. Despite countless studies suggesting [AI isn’t paying off](https://fortune.com/2026/05/11/ai-automation-layoffs-gartner-study-roi/). Despite countless examples showing that [AI is broken by design](https://lenz.io/research/llm-disagreement). Despite growing sentiment that [AI isn’t welcome](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8pqd54qneo). Despite everything, the stochastic parrot feeders insist that our future is token servitude. I crashed out hard at [Google’s deskilling](https://dbushell.com/2026/05/20/google-just-spat-in-my-face/). That incensed me. To see the word “skill” redefined and sold as a directory of markdown files is a grave insult. ## An opportunity [I’m still motivated](https://dbushell.com/2026/02/09/big-design-and-bold-ideas/#why-change). In the face of career-ending threats I see opportunity. I’ll be setting up shop as a limited company soon(-ish) after 15+ years of self-employment. Expect more news on that front later in the year. First I need to get a grip on unhealthy levels of stress. That means prioritising paid client work over my blog and social media antics! I work Mon–Thursday for exactly that reason. Friday is my personal day. Lately though I’ve found myself in keyboard warrior mode at 11am midweek. That must stop if I am to survive! The challenge is to continue enjoying my profession. I want to find a way to encourage and remotivate others too. At the same time, I can’t ignore the continued assault. The web must be fought for. That ain’t easy when it’s all so demoralising. I won’t be silenced in my fight against [alternative thoughts](https://dbushell.com/2026/04/28/alternative-thoughts/). The gatekeepers cannot be allowed to turn one of humanity’s greatest creations into a tokendollar economy. I can’t believe this needs repeating but: **do not replace real skills with a directory of markdown files.** Stay hungry to learn. Fight for the web.