Episode 109: The AI "Takeover"
A Sobering Look at What's Coming in the Next 5-10 Years
I’m Back.
Hi, friends.
It’s been a minute. I’ll be the first to say that. Between massive life changes for my family and I and the world *feeling* like it’s on fire, writing about tech hasn’t been a front-and-center concern of mine this year. Trying to be there for my family and friends has been.
So I want to start by thanking you all for your patience.
If I'm entirely honest, stepping away from writing about technology (and from indulging in social media) has not only provided me with a welcome break from the stress of life but also with a renewed appreciation for technology, especially the speed at which it moves.
One of the simple truths of tech is that it’s always moved fast. That’s just a part of what makes it so exciting… and so maddening. As a lifelong technologist, I had the honor and the responsibility of working for companies and institutions like the J Paul Getty Trust and Nike. Technologists learn early on in their career that their learning is never done.
Constant education is required: there's always a new tool, a new approach, a new solution. And, not surprisingly, every one of those shiny, new tools introduces a whole bunch of new problems to navigate and solve. But that’s the price that we all pay with Tech: it’s roller coaster ride that never really ends.
That’s why I decided to step off of the roller coaster.
I stopped working full-time in Tech back in late 2016 and never really looked back. Stepping away from even writing about tech at the end of 2024 was an extension of that initial decision, something that allowed for the re-balancing of my life, my priorities, and my goals.
Now that I’m starting to re-engage with the topic and with the tools, I’m realizing that — like always — so much has changed in just six short months. I’ve given myself time to watch from a distance and simply be a witness to what’s been happening.
Today, I jump back in.
The Rise of A.I.
Anyone who follows the news has heard that artificial intelligence (or AI) is currently changing everything. For the most part? Those claims appear to be true to me. Just as it happened with the discovery of fire, the inventions of the telegraph & telephone, the development of the automobile & assembly line, the birth and widespread adoption of the Internet, the personal computer, and our smart phones, the arrival of AI brings with it a massive paradigm shift.
The problem?
Most of us don’t see, let alone understand the massive changes that are already happening and the even larger changes that are juuuuuuuuust barely over the horizon.
Therefore, I’d like to take just one paragraph to explain what I now believe is going to happen in the next 5-10 years. Sit down for this as it’s a lot:
The widespread adoption and use of AI agents — something that’s already begun — and the speed at which those AI agents will exponentially evolve will shock the world’s economy & workforce. Entire career tracks will be eliminated as this emerging tech will be faster, cheaper, and more accurate than the humans who’d previously held those jobs.
This is what I believe, but please know: it’s not just me that’s saying that.
It’s also the CEO of Anthropic, one of the biggest AI platforms on the planet. He’s one of the few AI leaders or executives that have gone on record to describe the coming massive jobs loss. Others have said the same things as well, but off the record.
It’s also financial executives who say it. And it’s these three thought leaders in AI who are quite clear that the coming changes are massive.
Sam Altman — CEO of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT — already knows this as well. But he won’t say it out loud due to an understandable fear of the public’s backlash. So, instead, he’s jumped ahead of this next biggest issue and on to the next challenge which is that humanity still “needs to solve the safety issues, technically and societally” of AI.
So, uh, yeah. This is a thing now. And we can’t bury our heads in the sand and pretend it isn’t. This new tech will most certainly disrupt and change our entire society, so it should be understood and dealt with head-on and with 100% honest.
This, then, begs the obvious question…
So What Now?
I'll be the first to admit that I don’t know what the future holds. If I did, I wouldn’t be writing this newsletter: I’d be investing in stocks and relaxing on a beach in Central America after surfing some sweet, sweet warm water waves.
Sigh.
That being said… I think it’s safe to say that entire careers and entire career tracks will be eliminated as AI becomes more capable and affordable.
What’s Going to be Eliminated
To that end, I recommend that if you’re currently employed in any of the following careers, you should immediately start to seek out and then train for a new career or work opportunity that suits your intellect, loves, and talents:
receptionists, cashiers, attendants, tellers, or admin assistants
accountants, bookkeepers, & CPAs
paralegals
computer programmers and software engineers
database admins & data analysts
cybersecurity admins and analysts
taxi & uber drivers
copywriters
graphic designers
PR & marketing creatives
business strategists
social media managers
investment managers
travel agents and agencies
sales clerks of any kind
assembly line workers in most industries
The reason these lines of work will be eliminated is because AI agents will, over the next 5 years, be able to automate this work and do it more efficiently, cheaply, and accurately than any human could. That’s already happening, by the way.
Does this mean, as Goldman Sachs predicted back in 2023, that 300 million jobs will be degraded or eliminated globally? Maybe. But I’d guess those kinds of massive losses will take another 15-20 years to become true. But I also think that those numbers of job losses WILL become true.
If all of this sounds like a lot, that’s because, well, it is. But it doesn’t mean that the future is without opportunity.
Quite the opposite, I’d say…
What’s Going to Remain
I believe that most of us can future-proof our incomes by shifting to jobs that require a knowledge of AI or to those jobs that require a hands on approach, human to human interactions, or knowledge of social and emotional IQ:
plumbing, construction, painting, welding & other trade jobs
doctors & EMTs & nurses
lawyers & judges
teachers, trainers, & professors
chiropractors, massage therapists, acupuncturists, physical & occupational therapists
social workers, psychologists, & counsellors
farming of food, animals, & flowers
house organizing & cleaning
hair cutters and stylists
AI programmers, prompt engineers, & maintenance staffers
fire, police, & security staffers
fine artists of all kinds who produce tangible, touchable works of art such as paintings, sculptures, pottery, jewelry, fashion, etc.
live performers in music, theater, & film
babysitters & hospice care
global aid workers & disaster relief workers
How to Begin
First, and most importantly, everyone reading or hearing this episode should begin learning on three to five of the top AI tools. Start with a little bit each day, perhaps on a lunch break. Nothing crazy: just dip your toes in the digital water. I’d recommend picking from platforms such as ChatGPT, Notebook LM, Gemini, Eleven Labs, Stable Diffusion, and DALL-E. There are others, of course, but start there.
Working on these AI platforms and others will require that, over time, you learn how to become better at crafting the right prompts. Prompts are the words that we type into an AI agents to tell it what we want and how to give it to us. Here’s an example of a good AI prompt you might use on ChatGPT:
I want you to act as an interviewer. I will be the candidate and you will ask me the interview questions for the Director of Development position. I want you to only reply as the interviewer. Do not write all the conversation at once. I want you to only do the interview with me. Ask me the questions and wait for my answers. Do not write explanations. Ask me the questions one by one like an interviewer does and wait for my answers. My first sentence is "Hi".
Here’s another for use on Stable Diffusion or DALL-E if you’re looking to generate a “photograph” of a Native American elder:
ultrarealistic, (native american old woman ) portrait, cinematic lighting, award winning photo, no color, 80mm lens –beta –upbeta –upbeta
For now, what you need to know is this: better prompts = better results. While learning or mastering prompts will enable you to use AI platforms far better and more precisely than others, there’s a deeper benefit: “prompt engineering” is a skill that will be in high demand for many jobs in the future.
Of that, I’m 100% certain, so start yer learning now.
Then, when you get better, the world opens up to you.
We should think of our prompt engineering skills as we would speaking another language. As new AI platforms and tools are emerging on a daily basis, you can bring along your prompting skills and become a master songwriter and composer over night.
I’m not joking. The AI platform Suno allowed me to create a fully realized song where all of the instruments, drums, and voices were created digitally. All I provided were the lyrics. Then, I used my prompt skills and experimented with a variety of different approaches until I got my final song version. I cannot believe just how incredible-sounding and studio-like this song is:
Caveat Emptor
Are my lists of jobs 100% accurate? No, probably not. However, I believe that they provide a reasonable idea of what’s to come in the next five years. In the ten years after that? Who knows. Things get cloudy quickly because today’s AI will certainly evolve and grow by leaps and bounds. I’d expect many AI platforms to be able to improve themselves within a decade in ways that humans can’t yet predict.
Some of those “improvements” may prove to be incredibly powerful and positive for society. Some… not so much. This is why it’s wise to go back and listen to OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman when he says that humanity still “needs to solve the safety issues, technically and societally” of AI. I’d add it needs to be solved politically as well, something Altman himself indicated before Congress a few years back, something I mentioned back in Episode #91:
As always, I go back to the wise words of science fiction author, Isaac Asimov. Back in Episode #91, I suggested that we should adopt - right away - Asimov’s famous “Laws of Robotics" as a blueprint for new, emerging tech.
In 1942, his famous Laws of Robotics introduced the idea that — in order for humans and technology to peacefully co-exist — technology would require laws to regulate how it functioned. Here are his first three laws:
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
In 1950, Asimov added a “Zeroth” law, a law which superseded the previous three laws: “A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.”
In these four laws, Asimov laid the groundwork for the conversation we’re having RIGHT NOW around AI. This conversation is essential if society (and the government we elect to represent us) wishes to usher in a future where humans and our technology may live together in peace and balance.
One way or another, because of AI, the world will look different than it does now. We should prepare for that, slowly but methodically, effective immediately.
And that’s a wrap for today’s episode, everyone. Thanks for being a part of the Tech Talk community and, as always… surf safe! 👍🏼 👌🏾
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