AI has been the buzzword for the past five years, at least from what we’ve seen. In the early days, both the industry and the public were excited about its potential. But as time went on, enterprises began investing heavily in AI for one obvious reason – reduce their biggest operating cost: employees.
It’s not just the corporations either. Governments everywhere are racing to become the “first AI nation”, which sounds impressive on paper, especially for those who stand to gain the most – the big IT corporations driving the ecosystem.
Naturally, people working in the industry are anxious, wondering whether they will become the next casualty of this new corporate vision built around AI-driven efficiency.
This gives a sense of dejavu, as many of us – especially Gen X and baby boomers – have already lived through several waves of technological change throughout our careers. Each wave transformed the way we worked and ultimately benefitted businesses, customers, and society through faster access to information and real-time data.
But AI feels different.
While it undeniably helps enterprises achieve things faster and more efficiently, it is also gradually replacing a wide range of IT roles, from frontend development to backend operations.
Unlike previous technologies that mainly changed workflows, AI is beginning to reshape the value of human knowledge work itself – and that is why so many people in the industry feel both impressed and deeply uneasy at the same time.
