So, I’ve had a little think…
Love it or loathe it, ai is here and being stuffed into everything. It’s the ‘high-protein’ craze of the business world, being pumped into every product whether it makes sense or not.
Accompanying this force-feeding of ai is the narrative that it’s soon going to be so good that it will take your job: it’s faster, cheaper, and doesn’t need a lunch break to go and microwave its tupperware of leftover spag bol.
It’s in response to this fear of being replaced that I’m seeing more and more people rethink their current careers and looking at shifting to something entirely different, something human-centric and future proof.
I know a business strategist and marketing mentor that’s training as a Pilates teacher.
I met a student who was about to go to university to learn video game design, who has instead opted to become an electrician.
I’ve spoken to a copywriter who is so fatigued by clients asking her to proofread ai generated slop (or accusing her work of being written by ai) that she’s started upskilling as a therapist.
Even I’ve wondered if maybe I should become a tree surgeon or personal trainer (don’t worry, I’m sticking with being an amazing SEO specialist – for now).
But what if this exodus of talent becomes the very thing that creates the need for ai to fill these roles? If a profession is marked for death by ai, it’s inevitable that fewer people will pursue it.
So after the current practitioners jump ship and there’s no new talent to replace them, the only viable option to plug that gap is resorting to using ai – irrespective of whether it is actually advanced enough to replace them.
It reminds me of when the news reports potential petrol shortages. In response, a bunch of people panic and rush to fill their tanks. This causes queues and initial shortages at petrol stations, which makes more people worry and rush to fill up.
The end result is shortages caused not by supply chain issues, but by lots of people panic buying in fear of a shortage. If everybody had just carried on as normal and filled up as usual, we’d be fine.
little think is a series of shorter, more casual thought pieces.
The name comes from the British colloquialism “having a little think” – taking a moment to pause, reflect, or ponder a subject.