Yes, AI Will Replace Us (and Why That’s a Good Thing!)

I assume you clicked because of the title, but it’s not clickbait. I actually do mean this: the fact that most of the jobs will be automated or taken over by AI is the best thing that could happen to us. I’ll tell you why in a second, but let me start with an analogy from my own life.

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Back in the early 90s, I loved Assembly. I was literally an Assembly fanatic. If you don’t know what Assembly is, it’s a low-level programming language—the closest to binary code. Now, if you’ve started programming in the past two decades, chances are slim you’ve ever encountered binary code. So, let me give you an example. The following binary sequence:

CD 19

would restart any PC. Although these instructions can be interpreted by an Intel CPU and a few select software engineers, experts realized we needed something easier on the eyes. They came up with the Assembly language, which consists of so-called mnemonics (insert funny blooper how I struggle with pronunciation) that give us clues about what the instruction does. For instance, the binary sequence I just showed you, “CD 19,” can be written in Assembly as

int 19h

Way better, right? 🙃

Jokes aside, this code translates to software interrupt 19h, an instruction used by former operating systems to reboot the computer safely.

I used Assembly to develop all sorts of programs, including small prank programs that remained hidden in memory (known as TSR or Terminate and Stay Resident programs). Utility programs and viruses were using the same technique to do their job without interrupting the everyday use of the computer—remember, this was before the appearance of multitasking OSs. My prank apps were mostly harmless, doing silly things such as creating zillions of tiny files with funny names or replacing the entire character map with Klingon symbols. My friends did not think my programs were funny after I tricked them into running them. But yeah, there was no Twitter (sorry, X) back then, so I wrote such joke programs when I got bored.

I wrote the assembly code using a simple text editor and built the programs using an external compiler (Turbo Assembler) and linker.

Contrast this to the current IDEs that offer intelligent code completion, automatic code indenting, and plugins that write most of the code for us. The transition has been seamless, and I don’t recall anybody complaining about these features. These tools made our lives easier and increased our productivity, liberating us from tedious work such as typing out all the possible cases in conditional code or remembering the syntax of a twisted regular expression.

I used this analogy to explain why AI taking over the repetitive tasks from us is a positive thing. Why should a human spend hours in meetings taking notes of what’s being discussed? Instead, use voice-recognition software and let the AI summarize the important bits. The human can do something creative instead.

Also, why would one sit for 8 hours a day, 20 days a month, eating garbage food while driving a noisy six-wheeler through the country when they could spend their time creating unique, artisan furniture and making a fortune on eBay? While also having fun and spending more time with their family?

And what’s wrong with replacing a worker in a chemical factory with a robot and instead letting the person grow healthy, organic food and sell it at the farmer’s market?

And how about the cubicle workers? This touches a nerve since I also used to be one. If you’ve seen the movie Office Space, that’s not a satire. No. It is how I actually spent most of my workdays. You might assume software engineers do meaningful things, such as designing software and writing code. In reality, most of the time is spent on irrelevant things, such as meetings and fighting bugs introduced by themselves or other developers.

Replacing most positions with automation and AI will free up these people and help them find their true calling. Being fired is hard, but doing monotonous, useless work will suck the soul out of you and make you an unfulfilled, depressed, sick being. A zombie on a paycheck.

I do believe that every person has a purpose in life. This purpose is seldom discovered while working for others. While having a job temporarily may be necessary to gain experience and learn certain things, staying in the same job forever is not. Otherwise, you will never give yourself the chance to find your true purpose.

Perhaps you are an excellent chef, but you’ll never discover your talent for cooking because you’re just too tired after 10 hours of grinding at the meat processing factory. 

Or you have excellent intuition and could quickly untangle unsolved crimes. Yet you spend your days brewing coffee and organizing the schedule of your moron boss.

There’s a lot of unlocked potential in you. You just need to uncover and use it to build a better, more fulfilling life. The AI revolution we’re witnessing is just accelerating the collapse of a system that’s been doomed to failure anyway. 

My final advice? 

Don’t be naive. Company loyalty and job security are nothing but myths. Instead of working overtime, leave earlier and start working on yourself. Discover your talents, and start side projects.

The change is already happening. So, act fast!