How to guarantee AI won’t steal your job
There is much talk, fear, and speculation about the role that AI will play in the future of of our lives, in particular for work. For many, there is an existential risk that AI will replace them completely as it relates to their work, and this could happen on a mass scale, very quickly.
So, how can you “guarantee that AI won’t steal your job?”
In short, shift your skills or career on your own terms, so your job isn’t “stolen” but rather you’re choosing your own path. It is still relatively early, and there is still time for you to look at this next revolution as an opportunity versus an adversary. But, start now.
You may not be satisfied with that answer, but let’s dive into the details :)
AI is here to stay and evolving quickly
At the rate that AI is evolving now, the replacement of many jobs is not only possible but very likely in the near future. While I think we’re still in the early part of the adoption curve of AI, I do believe it will move fast.
Here’s just one example of the rapid rate of change in just the past 24 months with the generative AI image platform, Midjourney. It launched v1 in February 2022, and you can see how far it’s come below.
AI image generation started as a novelty, then it became useful, and now it’s eliminating the need for generic, stock photographers or stock photography sites altogether. This isn’t to say photography will be obsolete, but certainly generic commercial photography will be unnecessary when the same or better results can be attained at a fraction of the price. That said, there is a different story for unique, original photography that will still have its own place, that I get into below in more detail.
AI will shift jobs — view it as an opportunity
It hardly seems fair that a so-called robot should be able to come and take away our livelihood, but that is the path of technological progress and this is just another step in that journey.
This doesn’t have to be perceived as a negative. Many of us have become comfortable in our careers, sometimes too comfortable, in that we’ve stopped learning and expanding our skill sets, and the way we look at the world. While this is of course easier said than done, I believe learning and adapting is key tenet of the human condition, and while difficult, it is highly rewarding to embrace change over time.
This is a chance to dream about what could be next.
Embrace AI to upgrade skills or excel in a non-AI niche, but don’t sit in the middle
In my view, there are two main ways to deal with the AI revolution. The best approach for the vast majority of people will be to lean in and EMBRACE AI and the changes that it will make, supercharge your abilities, upskill, or shift careers.
- EMBRACE AI
The above statement is intuitively true, as those people who leverage AI will be at a massive advantage to those who do not. Thus, the best approach is to learn as much as is reasonable about AI and stay up-to-date on the latest tools, particularly those related to your career.
Now, you may rightfully say, what if AI completely wipes out the entire type of work that I do? For example, many generic types of customer service, copywriting, design, development, admin, data-entry, will all be done better, and cheaper, by AI. In this instance, you have two paths.
- Choose to level up and become a manager of the AI tools within that set of tasks, or;
- Take it as an opportunity to shift to a different type of work altogether.
You may call bullshit on #2 as that is AI taking your job, but the point here is that AI is here and it is happening, you can either let it bowl you over or embrace it on your own terms.
Meaning, that you can choose to move out of your current position as AI takes over many of the tasks that you previously did, and shift into another field or position within your domain, or get blindsided.
The reality is that the AI train has left the station, career shifts can either happen on your own terms or it can take you out.
2. ESCAPE AI
While AI is going to dominate the majority of industry soon, it will not dominate all of it. I believe there will be a significant market for explicitly non-AI products and services. The catch is though, you need to be at the top of your field for it to be useful. People always have, and will continue to pay a premium for products and services that are “hand-crafted” or in this instance “human-crafted.”
Think of the difference in value and appreciation you might put on a piece of hand-crafted furniture or jewelry versus something mass-bought at Ikea or Walmart. The sentimental value is real and deserves a premium. This will extend into the digital realm as well, including 100% Human-Crafted photography, design, music, and more. People will appreciate these, and the associated sentimental value intrinsic within.
That said, it will be niche! IKEA is massive for a reason, it provides good enough furniture at good prices, conveniently. This will be the stance that most take with AI-generated products and services as well. So you must go very deep into a particular skill set and master it, so there is unique value outside of what could be produced in seconds or minutes from AI.
A caveat to the above is that AI will still likely play a strong supporting role, even in non-AI niches. This will occur in places like accounting, project tracking, scheduling, and more, so to completely reject is like rejecting mobile phones or the internet.
3. DO NOT sit in the middle
The biggest existential danger lies in the middle, continuing with the status quo and not taking a proactive approach to AI.
One thing you can not do is sit in the middle and be mediocre or average at your craft, while not using AI. Then you WILL have your job stolen. It’s only a matter of time.
This is the unfortunate reality, and the wake-up call that I think many of us need to evaluate. There is no timeline for this, it could be months or years, but decades certainly seem too long.
Where to from here?
This space is moving fast! So, my best advice is to at minimum pay attention to the trends related to your industy, and start experimenting with the tools. That said, it is overwhelming to try and tackle it all, and it is still quite early and much will likely still change as it relates to the dominant players, tools and skillsets.
I’ll be providing more resources to help people onboard into AI in easy ways, and I’d be happy to help you with that as well. Stay tuned, or DM me!
- AI’s here to stay and evolving quickly.
- Jobs will shift; view it as an opportunity.
- Embrace AI to upgrade skills or excel in a non-AI niche.
- Staying average without AI adoption risks job loss.
- Keep informed on AI; experiment without obsessing.
