$500K-to-homeless AI engineer thread: critics say his AI-slop pitch sank him

TonyLStewart · x · 2026-11-01

Tony Stewart says three years ago he earned $500K/year in tech; with 28 years of experience, three technical books, and AI engineering since the 1990s, he's now homeless and living in his car, framing it as 'a warning about the future of work' and fundraising (screenshot shows he needs $1400-2k for first month's rent and moving costs).

Eric Elliott pushed back: plenty of unglamorous retail and restaurant jobs can't find help but wouldn't pay his ask; the problem is positioning — an 'AI engineer with 28 years of experience' bragging about a Webby nomination instead of research doesn't pass the smell test, and his site reads as AI slop. Advice: ditch the generic site, talk specifically about his 1990s AI work, make the offer concise.

Stewart countered that minimum-wage work would take two months just to cover rent. The thread became a case study of 'people who were good at bullshitting being exposed in the current era'.

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