It’s a pretty popular question these days. The tech industry is talking about slowing down the rapid development of AI.
I’m sure you want to hear something like yes or no, so I decided to start with that this time: my answer is yes.
Everyone’s happy right now? Well, it’s not just yes, of course, but a radical single answer satisfies everyone, doesn’t it?
AI is part of our lives now, and getting rid of it is almost impossible. It’s not practical at all. Many people around the world rely on it to some extent.
So do I! I research with it, I check game guides with it, or use it for learning things that I never thought about before.
But like every good thing, it has a sharp side that we cannot ignore. AI replaces jobs. Automation is a good thing if it helps you, but if it starts to replace you, yeah, it’s not that favorable.
I’m not siding with people who support the idea that AI is just a tool and it does not reduce jobs availability. It’s a fact that AI reduces jobs from the pool.
What’s the last time you searched something on Google and read content from a mid-tier website (except this website)?
We are relying on AI for several things, and it’s not our fault. Everyone deserves and fantasizes about fast content.
Instagram Reels and TikTok are part of this game. They’re favorable because they’re delivering fast information.
Even now, while I’m writing this piece, I’m thinking about when I’ll finish it and publish it to the people. I want the results immediately. Five years ago, I might have enjoyed the writing phase, but now I feel like I only enjoy the results.
Whatever. It’s not our topic. Our topic today is: should we slow down?
The answer is yes again. The reason?
Reason one: End of Entry Level Jobs.
AI is becoming capable enough to replace many workers. Companies may choose AI because it works 24/7, costs less, and does not need benefits or raises. If too many people lose their jobs, they have less money to spend. Less spending means less demand, which could hurt businesses and the economy as a whole.
Now, you might think this is a big claim, but let’s be real. A project that used to require 10 developers can now sometimes be done with just 2 developers and AI. There are already real examples of this happening. I’m not saying that vibe coding will completely replace programmers, but AI can make programming, designing, and other tasks much faster. Even if AI doesn’t fully replace these jobs, it can still reduce the number of people companies need, which means there will be fewer jobs available overall.
Anthropic released an article about this issue. They found no systematic increase in unemployment among highly exposed workers since late 2022. However, they did find suggestive evidence that hiring of younger workers has slowed in occupations more exposed to AI.
This suggests that while AI may not be causing widespread unemployment yet, entry level jobs are already being affected, especially for younger workers trying to enter the workforce.
Reason two: End of Content Creation.
Let’s say everyone can now access information via ChatGPT. How great! We have something that can summarize all Wikipedia pages and even research from other sources.
Well, but if you do not visit those websites, how are they going to make a profit? They’re not working for the sake of work. They’re also here for their paycheck.
It’s not just the creators’ problem, because Google also makes billions from advertisements. But if I can use Gemini to access the information, why would I visit a website or watch a video on YouTube with ads?
You might not be a content creator, but there are people who make money from it. You don’t need to be a content creator. Journalists are now more like content creators in this era because they’re publishing press releases and articles online.
Artists, on the other hand, have their work being used to train AI, and now AI “art” can generate images based on past data almost immediately. Don’t those artists deserve compensation for their work?
We must be more responsible when using AI, but the fact is that we won’t always be. With new advancements, we’ll see just how quickly AI improves over time.