I Am Retiring from Tech to Live Offline

By Chad Whitacre ❧ Published on May 28, 2026

tl;dr AI took the last of the wind out of my Open Source sails. I wish you all the best!

Disclosure / advertisement: I worked for Sentry when I wrote this.

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Original Images

Image 1 OCR Transcript

Dear Internet,

Life's a funny thing, isn't it? It happens at all different levels at once. Personal and professional, psychological and physical, emotional and spiritual. Individuals and groups, communities and corporations. I'm retiring from tech. Well, "retiring" is euphemistic. I'm stepping away from tech, and that includes Open Source. I have a job waiting for me at Home Depot starting next week. My last day at Sentry is Friday, May 29. I plan to stay online through August to ensure a smooth transition for the Open Source Endowment to a new board member. Vlad-Stefan Harbuz is taking the reins of the Open Source Pledge. I'm grateful that Vlad, Konstantin, Jonathan, Max, and others have the energy and vision to continue pursuing the dream of Open Source sustainability. For my part, I fell off the wagon in 2015, and as my role has become increasingly outward-facing and leadership-oriented, the demands of the role and my internal state have become harder and harder to reconcile.

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. A reminder. Never forget your roots. Here in Pennsylvania we have the Amish performing a similar function. Significantly less hostile, though still set apart, they bear witness to what was normal for all of us a couple short centuries ago: horse and buggy, wood stoves and lanterns. My intent is to be AI Amish, which means Internet Amish. Not 1780, but 1980. Neo-Amish. I'm fine driving a car and flipping a lightswitch, by which I mean that they don't make me into something I hate, which AI and social media do.

I haven't used a phone or the Internet in my personal life since February 6. To communicate, I use the USPS, or maneuver my body into close proximity and vibrate air with my throat. I love it. I want to be part of a society of people likewise inclined. I've started an offline magazine called Gift toward that end, focused on my own faith community, which is not Amish but Orthodox Christian. (Send \$10 to P.O. Box 200, Sewickley, PA 15143 for the first issue.)

GIFT

P.O. BOX 200
SEWICKLEY, PA
15143
USA

Image 1 Handwritten Annotations

• Date stamp at top: "MAY 27 2026"; printed mini calendar for May 2026 with May 27 and May 29 circled.
• Near "retiring from tech": "still have to work; not 'post-economic' haha".
• Near "I have a job ... at Home Depot": handwritten insertion "waiting for me"; red drawing of an apron labeled "APRON".
• Near the Open Source transition paragraph: "5+ years! Thank you David, CKT, Ben, etc etc ... proud of what we did and grateful for the opportunity".
• Near "fell off the wagon": handwritten insertion appears to read "as ideological".
• Near "my role has": handwritten note appears to read "at Sentry".
• Near "AI and social media do": "social media" is crossed out and replaced with "doomscrolling".
• Near "I've started an offline magazine": handwritten insertion "and working".
• Near \$10: "or rough equivalent in your local currency".

Image 2 OCR Transcript

I'm not experiencing this as a fearful head-in-sand reaction, but rather as an expansive, joyful recovery. Of course, AI humanoids are going to Mars. And of course, a modest counter-culture will form. When I see a clip of Starship, my admiration at the achievement leads, oddly enough, into motivation to achieve something audacious in its own way: a thriving offline society in some sort of peaceful equilibrium with the mainstream. As near as I can tell, that's what the next chapter looks like for me. I wish all the best to those continuing to carry the Open Source torch. To any who want to vibrate air at each other, look for me around Sewickley, PA, or at St. Nicholas, McKees Rocks. Until then, God bless. Pray for me, a sinner.

Yours truly,

Chad Whitacre

out here tryin' :-)

Image 2 Handwritten Annotations

• Near "head-in-sand": handwritten correction "the".
• Near "vibrate air at each other": handwritten insertion "to".
• Bottom-left red stamp: "LAST ISSUE".

Notes

This post garnered a lovely send-off from HN. Thank you all!

I am also using this moment to share a fund-raiser for my good friend Dana. We met IRL and worked together for 15+ years in Open Source communities. Thanks for helping if you can! 🙏