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AI moving faster than expected?

Those pushing the AI boat have been predicting that this technology will allow us all to retire and enjoy a wonderful life, without the need to work a 40 hour week.

Artificial Intelligence, we're told, will boost everyone's productivity so much that our standard of living will rise dramatically and we will all benefit, even if only by way of a trickle-down effect.

So far we've not seen too much of this utopian dream being delivered, despite the investment of mind-boggling sums of money in AI datacentres and development efforts.

However, something may be about to change and change dramatically.

According to this article in Fortune magazine, all white collar work will be AI dominated within 18 months.

To be fair, that is a prediction by Microsoft's head of AI who may be engaging in a little wishfull thinking by virtue of his position.

However, others are also predicting a similarly rapid uptake of AI systems in a wide range of roles and if they're even half right, we could be on the cusp of a change more dramatic than any our civilization has ever seen.

The begining of this exponential transition is already well underway.

I have a friend in the UK who is a seasoned software tester and he's now looking for a new job but finding it very hard. AI and remote working has had a huge effect on his chances of securing another position.

Not only has AI allowed a single human to do much more work than before, thus reducing the number of workers required but teleworking means that for every single position being advertised there are literally hundreds or thousands of applicants. He's competing with every unemployed software tester in the world now to get a job.

I spotted this story in the New Zealand media this morning which also signals a clear directional change right here.

Right now I'd hate to be a graphic artist trying to pay my bills because this is one of the areas already being ravaged by AI.

Why pay an expensive graphic artist to create illustrations and artwork for your business when a few minutes spent playing with AI systems such as VEO3 can produce brilliant images at a tiny fraction the price?

Sure, those artists who work at the very top of the market where clients are prepared to pay a premium for the level of work they deliver may still survive but the majority of those whose bread and butter is simply churning out eye-catching images day after day are probably going to find themselves flipping burgers at Maccas in the very near future.

Spare a thought, of course, for those unfortunate folk who've spent the past three years or more working towards a degree in computer science, with the hope of becoming a well-paid computer programmer. How will they repay their student loans with the number of jobs rapidly falling to the effects of vibe-coding?

A tip for those who may be about to enter the worforce or who may be looking for a new job, spend as much time as you can reading about and experimenting with AI -- then include a section in your CV that highlights your knowledge, familiarity and experience with AI. This may make you far more employable in the immediate future. I suspect that a huge percentage of new hires will be chosen with a view towards their ability to help integrate AI into their workplace as things evolve. Having that "AI" in your CV may give you an important edge during the selection process.

Where will we be in 12-18 months' time?

I have no idea but I suspect that AI will have dramatically altered the face of our work environment or it will have pretty much fizzled out and become just another tool in the kit of resources that we use when performing our daily tasks.

I'll update you in a year or so.

Carpe Diem folks!

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