Seems like we can't even go at least one or two days without somebody bringing up the notion that at some point in the near future, all of our jobs are going to be replaced with AI. Designers, writers, developers, researchers, etc.
I've stated in so many ways how the AI isn't there yet to be able to completely do things the way we do. Not to mention the fact that the stakeholders and employers that would love to get rid of all of their human labor are also the same people that can't clearly articulate what they want, so I can imagine while the AI could be very intelligent, it might not be able to translate the mess a stakeholder would give as instruction.
Now I'm going to take this out to a bigger level. If AI could replace a software engineer completely, or a graphic or web designer completely, then that means the AI is intelligent enough to replace a lot of people. Why should money management companies hire wealth managers and stockbrokers and other financial gurus when the AI could simply go out and quickly analyze and figure out what to buy and what to sell immediately without any worry?
Why should we even have any other kinds of engineers if the AI can simply quickly draw up blueprints and then use a 3D printer to turn out a prototype?
And then of course, there's the people that bring up their vocational trade, pretending that somehow they will never be replaced and they will always make loads of money forever.
What happens if we end up with millions of displaced knowledge workers, and at least a fourth of them decide to go out and learn vocational trades so they can make a living? That means you're now going to have a lot more competition out there, and they're going to be undercutting you, and now you're going to complain that you can't find decent paying work. Isn't this the same complaint I hear about migrants coming in?
Let's be brutally honest. If AI could come and replace all of us very quickly, and now human labor has become obsolete, this is not going to just become an issue of where you're going to work, it's going to become an issue of how does society survive. If it comes to the point that there's really no work out there for you beyond retail or some other menial labor that is likely going to be replaced with robots, then that means that you are now obsolete. That the only option for you is to find a nice place to curl up and starve to death.
And how do companies make money if nobody has any revenue or money to spend on anything?
Let's be brutally honest, society isn't going to go there. And Lord knows if the AI is intelligent enough, then somebody could replace the board with the AI. We could replace our government elected officials with AI. That means anybody could be replaced with AI.
It's a tool. I would tell anyone out here that you should be trying to figure out how to utilize it in your work. I know for me, I'm slapping my forehead today thinking that I should be running content. Then I'm writing for firm emails through chat GPT just to see if they can improve on it. I'm using generative AI with Adobe products to do certain kinds of retouching that it would take me hours to do on my own. I'm not necessarily going to let AI completely lay out a web page for me, but I'm not going to sit here being scared of it as if it's going to make me irrelevant.
I'm sorry for those out there who can't find a job. It sucks, but I will tell you I've been through this thing after the dotcom crash, watched many more go through it after the housing crash in 2008. This is unfortunately a transitional time in our economy, and everyone's going to have to suffer a little bit until everything settles down and we figure out what the new normal is. I will tell you though, that if you believe everything is so absolutely hopeless right now, then you're pretty much screwed in life.
So take a deep breath, stop being afraid of AI, start figuring out how to better utilize it in your work, and keep at it because eventually these companies are going to have to hire again. They can't sit on their hands forever because the shareholders will start demanding why they are not making new revenue.
If you are a beginner or a junior or somebody that came out of a boot camp with minimal skills, you had better be working on those skills while you are sitting here applying for jobs. Put down the Xbox controller and look for things you can do to build on your skills. Network with people who are working and don't ask them to give you a job or an internship, but ask them what skills they are seeing that everyone is lacking that you should be working on.
I know if someone asked me that in UX, I would be happy to try to point out what I think they should be doing. I may not have jobs or internships to give out, but the very least I can do is give out advice.
Things will get better. Calm down.