Becoming Future-Proof: Part 1
As AI creates new uncertainties in the job market, learning to become future-proof is a strategic skill | Edition #233
👋 Hi everyone, Luiza Jarovsky here.
Welcome to the 233rd edition of my newsletter, trusted by over 77,500 subscribers interested in AI governance, AI literacy, the future of work, and beyond.
It is great to have you here!
🎓 Expand your learning and upskilling journey with our resources:
Join my AI Governance Training (yearly subscribers save $145)
Register for our job alerts for open roles in AI governance and privacy
Sign up for weekly educational resources in our Learning Center
Discover your next read in AI and beyond with our AI Book Club
👉 Before we start, a special thanks to Relyance AI, this edition's sponsor:
Static DSPM misses the reality of data in motion. Relyance AI’s Data Journeys™ delivers continuous visibility from code to cloud to AI. Surface contextualized, actionable risks to meet compliance demands and AI complexity by managing data flows with confidence. Learn more with our free Dynamic DSPM Whitepaper.
*To support us and reach over 77,500 subscribers, become a sponsor.
Becoming Future-Proof: Part 1
Regardless of your personal take on the current state of AI advancements, the fact is that the generative AI wave has already started to change the job market.
Massive AI hype and the “AI-first” trend have led companies in various sectors to prioritize AI-powered initiatives and reduce their workforce, even though it is unclear whether AI leads to any net productivity gain once you account for legal and reputational risks, as well as the time and cost of overseeing and correcting outputs.
Given that it is virtually free to generate unlimited, coherent-sounding text (although potentially inaccurate or fake) and realistic images, videos, and sounds, white-collar workers, freelancers in the knowledge-based economy, and creatives are among the professionals most directly impacted by the ongoing AI wave.
We are living in times of added uncertainty.
Not only do the usual economic and political oscillations remain, but AI as a techno-social wave directly affects job markets, and every new micro trend and marketing cycle brings new personal insecurities regarding automation, replacement, and systemic disruptions.
In this context, generative AI has been a source of anxiety for many, who have started to ask themselves whether they will still have a job in the coming years, or how they are going to pay their bills.
Anxiety and fear are never a productive answer. Action, on the other hand, is usually the best remedy, as it empowers people to take control over their own destiny (especially when automation waves aim to turn us into non-thinking amoebas).
With that in mind, I want to share my thoughts (and actionable insights) on becoming future-proof.
*This is Part 1 of a three-part series, available in full to paid subscribers.
Part 1: The Awareness Phase
Everyone should start by acknowledging reality: there is a technological and social AI wave underway, and it is affecting the job market.
As I wrote above, even if AI's technical capabilities fall short of the excessive hype, and even if the productivity claims have been overly exaggerated, AI deployment is already creating instability and uncertainty for many.
Another tough fact is that nobody is immune to AI replacement.
Even if it does not seem to be the case today, new AI systems that do not yet exist might make your current job replaceable in a matter of months.
Not in the sense that AI will physically replace you or that there will be no human involved, but in the sense that someone without your training or experience will be able to deliver a similar result (potentially faster) using an AI tool.
In a free market, if the results are similar (or valued similarly by the market), the less qualified, cheaper worker replaces the more expensive one, especially in the absence of policies or laws to prevent that.
People often want to avoid the tough questions, but they should not.
At this point, you should be asking yourself the following questions on a regular basis: