David Truss’ points here are sobering:

…the reality is that the vast majority of people in the world are oblivious to just how fast this disruption is coming, and unlike other disruptions in the past this one is going to happen everywhere and all at once…

…the situation is far worse than I thought, because AI is coming after not just these jobs, but almost every other jobs these newly unemployed people will be looking for.

Matt’s article that David quotes makes this point:

This is different from every previous wave of automation, and I need you to understand why. AI isn’t replacing one specific skill. It’s a general substitute for cognitive work. It gets better at everything simultaneously. When factories automated, a displaced worker could retrain as an office worker. When the internet disrupted retail, workers moved into logistics or services. But AI doesn’t leave a convenient gap to move into. Whatever you retrain for, it’s improving at that too.

For those who have been working a long while, who can’t pivot…well, I can see the water pulling away fast now. The run from the beach is long and, wait, is that the wave rushing back?

Let’s learn as much as we can.

I am also going to add this…

The Parable of the Four Horses

Once, while staying at the Kalandaka Grove, a teacher spoke to his followers about four horses.

“The first,” he said, “is so alert that the mere shadow of a whip makes it leap forward. The second waits until the whip brushes its skin before it runs. The third won’t move until the whip cuts deep enough to draw blood. And the fourth—poor beast—will not stir until it has been lashed again and again.”

He paused, letting the image settle. “So too,” he continued, “are the minds of people. Some understand at a glance, some need a touch, others must feel pain, and some will only learn after long suffering.”

Moral: The wisest learn from the shadow of trouble, not the sting of it.