AI Will Replace You — Protect Yourself Now

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been more than a buzzword for the last couple of years; it is literally taking over every single aspect of how businesses are run. Big corporations have even started hiring Chief Artificial Intelligence Officers to ensure their organizations are getting the most out of AI tools, largely to replace slow and expensive human-driven tasks with fast and inexpensive technology-driven tasks.

The applications are literally endless, but this article should help inspire you to rethink everything you are doing in your business, as there is probably a technology out there that can do it faster and cheaper.

I did a little research on Google to see what AI tools I could stumble upon, and I was amazed at the breadth and depth of AI tools I found:

So great, there are now AI tools out there that can quickly and easily do all of these tasks. Yes, you can get a lot of these same topics addressed from the main AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude and Google, but the businesses linked about are mastering their craft in each of these specific verticals.

As we are all experimenting with these main AI engines, we should also be experimenting with some of these niche solution providers we have never heard of before, as maybe they have a better “mousetrap” (at least for now).

Related: Your Clients Are Using AI to Replace You — Do These 3 Things Before They Do

Why do I share this? For three reasons.

Firstly, an “old timer” like myself (aged 56) would have done what I normally would have done for these topics: hire people or consultants who produce the work product needed. Because that is how I have always done it. I didn’t even know there were other technology-driven options out there that could help me move faster and cheaper. And I am guessing there are a lot of other people out there who would have done the same thing.

So, I encourage you to take a pause, see what technology options are available to you, and see if they can help you save time and money versus the “old ways” of doing business.

Secondly, if these new technologies prove effective, it is going to dramatically decrease the amount of capital that will be required to get new startup businesses launched and operating in the market. Which means the speed at which your business faces new competition will be much faster.

So, you no longer have the benefit of “resting on your laurels” or coasting based on your past successes. It won’t take long for some smart AI coder to launch a better product, making your business obsolete. So, you need to protect your turf and go on the offensive: figure out how AI can help you with your product development roadmap and innovation efforts. If you don’t, someone else will!

Related: AI Won’t Replace You — But an AI-Equipped Professional Will. Here’s Why.

Thirdly, all human workers out there should be “shaking in their boots” in terms of thinking about their job security. Yes, companies like Amazon or Google say AI will help reduce their future hiring needs, letting them grow more efficiently while keeping all of their current staff.

But let’s not fool ourselves; companies are driven by their shareholders who are seeking higher valuations, typically from higher profits. And what is the best way to increase profits? Replace a $60,000-a-year salaried person with a near-free technology! Yes, I am talking to all you graphic designers, technology developers and customer service agents!

While that may sound great for that specific company’s bottom line, if all companies out there are employing this same logic, this could mean massive layoffs in the years to come, with no replacement jobs that will enable them a “soft landing”.

It wouldn’t surprise me if a majority of Americans were living on welfare in the next decade or two, which is a pretty bleak forecast. The stock market may do great, with all the accelerating corporate profits as technologies replace people. But the average American and their consumer spending power is going to be materially impacted for the worse.

Yes, all of these new technologies are very cool. Who doesn’t want to move faster and cheaper on their growth plans? But when you think about the long-term implications of these AI technology advancements, it doesn’t paint a very rosy picture for the future of most average Americans.

Related: I Audited My Time for One Week. Here’s What I Changed Forever.

So, if you are worried about getting potentially disintermediated by technology (which should be most of you!), start putting your defense plans in place now. Start training yourself up with new skills that won’t get cut by profit-hungry management teams. Who knows, maybe you can use the AI technologies to your advantage in launching the next really great startup that everyone will be using.

It will be very interesting to see how this all shakes out in the coming years. At a minimum, you all need to be learning how AI technologies can help your businesses and or your specific roles. If not, you may not have a profitable business or a defendable job for much longer.

Sorry to be “doom and gloom” here, just calling it like I see it.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been more than a buzzword for the last couple of years; it is literally taking over every single aspect of how businesses are run. Big corporations have even started hiring Chief Artificial Intelligence Officers to ensure their organizations are getting the most out of AI tools, largely to replace slow and expensive human-driven tasks with fast and inexpensive technology-driven tasks.

The applications are literally endless, but this article should help inspire you to rethink everything you are doing in your business, as there is probably a technology out there that can do it faster and cheaper.