Or: Why I Think We're All Missing the Point About Artificial Intelligence

AI is everywhere. It’s in the headlines, in your workplace, and in the background of almost every conversation about the future. Companies are racing to add "AI-powered" to their products, and the internet is full of both excitement and anxiety. So, what’s really happening beneath the hype?

The Blue-Collar and White-Collar Paradigm Shift

For decades, the story went like this: automation would first take over blue-collar jobs. We imagined robots flipping burgers, assembling cars, or even cooking our meals. The assumption was that repetitive, physical work would be the first to go, while knowledge work—writing, designing, coding, managing—would remain safe, protected by the need for creativity and complex thinking.

But here’s the paradox. The reality unfolding today is almost the opposite. AI is now automating tasks that were once considered uniquely human and intellectual. It’s writing emails, generating reports, creating images, and even helping to write code. The jobs being reshaped aren’t just on the factory floor, but in offices, studios, and remote workspaces around the world.

What AI Can Replace (Right Now)

Let’s be clear: AI is not replacing entire professions overnight. What it does well is automate specific, repetitive tasks—regardless of whether they’re blue-collar or white-collar. Here’s what’s actually happening:

Data entry and processing
Simple content generation
First-line customer support
Template-based reporting
Basic scheduling and coordination

The paradox is that many jobs once thought “safe” are now being redefined. Meanwhile, some blue-collar roles, especially those requiring dexterity, adaptability, or a human touch—like skilled trades, caregiving, or even cooking—are proving much harder to automate than expected.

The Opportunity in the Paradox

This shift is unsettling, but it’s also full of opportunity. As AI takes over routine tasks, it frees up time for people to focus on what truly requires human intelligence: judgment, creativity, empathy, and problem-solving. The challenge is not just to adapt, but to reimagine how we work and what we value.

What I'm Seeing Across Industries

Content and Marketing

AI can draft content, but it can’t replicate taste, originality, or emotional nuance. The flood of generic AI content is making real creativity more valuable, not less. The best writers and designers use AI as a tool, not a replacement.

Customer Service

Chatbots are great for FAQs, but struggle with nuance and complex problems. Many companies are learning that real human support is still essential for customer satisfaction.

Tech and Development

AI is making coding more accessible, but it’s also creating demand for new roles: workflow designers, model integrators, prompt engineers. It’s not about replacing developers, but augmenting them and creating new technical opportunities.

The Real Problem: We're Not Preparing People

Instead of investing in reskilling, many companies are cutting costs and hoping for the best. Workers are left to figure things out alone, learning new skills on the fly. We need more support for reskilling, public education that includes AI literacy, and career guidance rooted in real market shifts, not hype.

What I Think Will Happen

In the short term, expect confusion, overreaction, and some questionable decisions. In the medium term, AI will become as ordinary as spreadsheets. New jobs will emerge, and those who learn to use AI effectively will have an advantage. The hype will fade, but the impact will remain.

The Real Opportunity: Learn the Right Skills

You don’t need to become an AI engineer, but you do need to understand how to use the tools. Writing clear prompts, automating workflows, knowing when to rely on AI and when to trust human judgment—these skills matter in every field.

My Philosophy

AI won’t take your job. But someone who knows how to use AI effectively might. The real risk isn’t the technology, it’s ignoring the shift. The real opportunity is to use that shift to focus on work that truly requires human intelligence. The world will adapt, because that’s what humans do.

What I Assume Will Happen to the Job Market Transition Flow

graph TD
  A[New Tech Emerges] --> B[Panic Over Job Loss]
  B --> C[Companies Overreact (Layoffs)]
  B --> D[Opportunities for New Roles]
  C --> E[Short-Term Chaos]
  D --> F[Reskilling + Adaptation]
  E --> G[Skill Gaps Grow]
  F --> H[AI Becomes Normalized]
  G --> H
  H --> I[New Equilibrium of Work]

What's your take? Are you learning to work with AI, resisting it, or somewhere in between? I'd love to hear your thoughts, extra credit if you used AI to help shape them.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go organize my thoughts for my next blog post—with or without AI.

My Opinion on AI (Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot Overlords)