Hexagram 7 > Hexagram 35
I'd imagine no human wants their source of paychecks to be snatched away by server farms.
We live in an age where job insecurity is linked to insecurities about the powers of artificial intelligence.
What follows here are my rules of thumb about what jobs are least likely to be replaced by AI. And what I see as the defining factor of being a human, that a computer program can't suppress.
The Jobs That AI Cannot Replace
Consider AI replacing humans to be an idea that trickles out into the world with different release dates. This or that job in the next five years, committed relationships in ten, etc.
The Overton Window will get inched forward in different directions, the bubbles will begin to dart up to the surface as your frog-self approaches boil, and new things will be normalized.
The early adopters are already spilling their innards in internet therapy sessions managed by large language models managed by billionaires.
Some isolative folks will find nothing wrong with wrapping their mental arms around a chatbot that replaces any need for human contact.
Like most societal customs and norms, it will depend on what you want the world to look like. What will you tolerate? What you will you reward with time, attention, and currency?
But, a rule of thumb for the security of your job (as far as I can see it): The more human contact a job requires, the more resistant it is to being replaced by artificial intelligence. This can be anything from a buyer needing reassurance about an offering from a client success manager or salesperson, roles that would spark resentment if a customer had to speak with a robot, to matters of literal life or death (where AI and robots are far from being trusted).
A second rule of thumb: The more prestige a job gets a human, the more they'll resist it being replaced with AI. And of course, those with the most power will have the most say in whether they get phased out.
A third: the more conducive a job is to producing fans/stans/others seeing you as a role model, the less likely it is to be replaced by AI.
A fourth rule of thumb: The larger a purchase, the more likely it is that a human will need to be involved. People don't want to be sold by, and release large sums of money to a robot. It's a little too close to getting manipulated by a being trained to exploit human biases.
My best guesses for specific professions based on those four heuristics:
- Politicians
- Medical Professionals (Doctors, Nurses, Therapists, Veterinarians, etc.)
- Professional Athletes
- Star Celebrities (Musicians, Actors, etc.)
- So many want to be celebrities or 'influencers' to get to the escape velocity level where they can become a recurring profit-producing white label-assisted human hawking hard liquor and skin care
- Roles That Serve Star Celebrities
- Law Enforcement
- Military Personnel
- Firefighters/Medics/Disaster Response
- Legal Professionals
- Homeless Care Workers
- Teachers
- Religious Officials
- Senior Management/Leadership
- You need someone to tell others what to do, ultimately
- Trade Professionals
- Finance Professionals
- Salespeople
- Client Managers/Support
- Retail
- Food Service
- Recruiting
- Even if recruiting teams get minimized, companies will not want to sign someone on without knowing directly how they'll feel about interacting with them
- Job That Care For Loved Ones/Pets/Animals
- People barely want to trust humans with those they love, let alone faceless technology
What AI Can't Replace In Humans
Another great issue for humans in light of AI advancements is: 'what's the point'?
It's easy to lean into dejection, questioning the purpose of life itself.
But life for thousands of years seems to have always been about the 'being'. The present moment. The thing we like to avoid, or the thing we like to seek out in short bursts with meditation apps.
All we actually live in is what 'is' right now. It's trite at this point, but there's a reason books continue to line Amazon listings teaching this same lesson.
So, when AI can make art, be more persuasive, sing better, and soothe better, what are we left with? The living.
Doing things for the sake of doing them, and experiencing them fully, without expectations.
It's a challenge we've tried to escape for those thousands of years, but it's about all we're left with.
It's the present moment where we make friends, show love, and create, so it's in our best interest if we stop treating it like a serial sneezer sitting next to you on the subway.
By embracing the present you're embracing your purpose. The origin point for even the technology that we think is robbing us of rewards at this very moment. So, breathe in.