We are at the beginning of a transition era in which we will see more and more AI applications that will make us more productive in our day-to-day jobs.
I think that at least initially, these applications will focus on the" stuff we hate doing" in our jobs.For example, any product manager taking a new job is super excited about the ability to work with a new team to create initiatives and value, talk to customers, brainstorm new ideas, advance its knowledge, and so forth, but in reality, a lot of product managers time is "wasted" on daily firefighting, participating in meetings in which they need to report on progress or repeat common or already shared knowledge, answering similar emails and communication topics from sales and other front-facing teams, and so forth—not exactly a joy, but a must.
So with the next wave of AI applications, we will see automation of the "stuff we hate doing," and we will see a team of two accountants able to do what five accountants used to be needed for, two lawyers doing the work of five lawyers, two developers doing the work of five, and so forth for pretty much every industry out there.In this transition period, humans will still be needed for supervision and creative purposes, but eventually pretty much everything else will be automated. On one hand, companies will become x2, x5, x10, or x100 more productive with the same workforce, but on the other hand, companies can stay with the same level of productivity but cut a significant part of their costs. This can lead—for the first time in history—to massive layoff waves, not because the market is slowing but because companies will do just as well with fewer people.
I know the above assumption is oversimplifying just one of many aspects of how profoundly AI is going to affect our lives, but still, its going to be a challenge to navigate how we adjust to this new reality.
