SEOers owe their livelihood to the fact that the internet changed the way we disseminate information. Google has done more for organizing that information than anyone else, and that's why they're so big now. It's because Google is so big that SEOers have relied on them so much to make a living.

That doesn't, however, mean that Google has some ethical obligation to SEOers or its users. Personalized search was a business decision, and the market will decide what it will look like in the future.

So when SEOers weigh in against personalized search in the way that Michael Gray did, they only lend credence to claims that SEO is a big, bad, voodoo scam.

Alternatively, it's a lot more constructive to let the let the market decide, and follow Gord Hotchkiss' advice to get a really good job, broaden your view, and adapt to survive. As Hotchkiss points out, this isn't the final word on personalized search:

Here are the challenges for Google in the personalization path they’re going down. Right now, the introduction of a few organic listings doesn’t really make a significant difference for the user. To significantly change the user experience, someone has to be bolder with personalization.
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I do believe Google needs to allow users to toggle any type of customized results, with clear controls.
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For the search user experience, it comes down to two significant issues, and whoever can do this best will win:

Relevance Aligned to Intent: I've always said that search is the connector between intent and content. The more successful you can make that connection, the better. Take my intent and by whatever means necessary, personalization, demographic targeting, behavioral targeting, social targeting, give me links to the content I'm looking for. Be the best at doing that and you'll win. And you simply can't do that with universal search results. Personalization is inevitable.

User Control: If I have a quibble with what Google is doing, it's in the taking control from the hands of the user. What we don't want here is the "Google knows best" attitude that the company has been guilty of in the past. Always leave clear options for the user to navigate and tailor the results to their preferences. If you go to personalized results as a default, indicate how the user can toggle the option on and off.

We can debate whether personalization is a good or bad thing. Honestly, I think it's a moot point. The next generation of search is impossible without personalization, in one form or another. [...] Everyone acknowledges that search is in it's infancy. By saying that we shouldn't go down the personalization path, it's like saying we always want our baby to remain 9 months old. Sure, they're easier to control at that age, but it makes it a little difficult for them to realize their potential as a human being.