On August 11, 2026, Johnson, head of Legal at otiose corp., came to Internal HR. His subordinate Jamie, he said, produced a great deal of output—yet one hundred percent of it was ChatGPT or Claude, and her understanding of the contents was zero percent. We opened our own inquiry the same afternoon.

How We Reached One Hundred Twenty PercentWe pulled thirty days of her Slack and external mail. Nothing that left her name showed a human edit before send. Prompt histories named ChatGPT and Claude; drafts went straight into the channel. Model text outran what a person could have typed in her marked hours. We called it one hundred twenty percent AI. Comprehension, on interview, remained zero.

What We Told JohnsonWe asked him to re-read otiose corp.’s sustainability plan. Output here depends on the individual’s discretion. Quality is not scored; we accept the work as it stands. Growth is optional—collision with a colleague who has chosen her method is not.

For cases in which he wants to advance the work “correctly,” we gave him a one-month Claude Code allotment and a budget to hire one human subordinate under Legal. Johnson looked relieved. “Now I can do ordinary work,” he said—reading a draft before it leaves, not arguing with Jamie about hers. He thanked the company that the two could continue without a fight.

What We Told JamieWe held a one-on-one with Jamie. On Zoom she was badly shaken. “I’m being fired, right?” Suspicion of ordinary companies made talking hard at first.

We told her that Let it rot is the creed of otiose corp., and that she had this quarter’s special commendation. Criteria: volume under her name, reply speed, tickets closed without a manager. Understanding is not scored. She met every line, wept again, and thanked the company.

The AI Operating AllowanceWe already knew she ran AI one hundred abreast, twenty-four hours a day. We offered to call that a “one hundred fifty percent burden.” From September 2026 she receives an AI operating allowance with salary, reviewed each quarter. It covers compute she was buying herself. It does not require her to read the output. She agreed.

To The Rest Of The Staffotiose corp. is still searching for the right way for humans to work in the age of AI. Do not be swayed by the old propaganda of left and right—neither that every line must be handmade, nor that every line must be automated.

You may use these tools to leave earlier. You may refuse them. You may not police a colleague’s method, and you may not campaign against Let it rot. Questions about how you work go to Internal HR first.

Filed for the record

Questions about the allowance or the hire budget may be sent to Floor 4. We expect gratitude.

This is the fifth issue. It is numbered four. The sequence continues until it does not.