3.1 Software eats world
Back in 2011, Marc Andreessen, one of the partners of the Andreessen Horowitz investment fund, wrote an article titled "Software is Eating the World". He pointed out that software is quickly consuming real-world professions.
With the advent of software, the internet, and mobile applications, the world hasn't changed drastically, but it has changed. And some people have been left by the wayside of technological progress. But there were also those who leveraged it well. And of course, there were those who became billionaires.
It’s always been that way. In the 17th century, peasants in England were driven off their lands to make way for sheep farming. In the 19th century, 90% of people worked in agriculture, but today only 2% of the population does. Yet, the percentage of hungry people worldwide is at a historic low, although the population is at its peak.
Technologies boost productivity. Machines and robots automate physical labor, reducing demand for low-skilled workers and increasing the demand for highly-skilled.
In the service sector, software acts as such "machines": one accountant with 1C can replace an entire accounting staff from 20 years ago. But this will be a different accountant: one who is computer literate, knows 1C, can order software customization for the company’s needs, and so on.
One person doesn’t just replace 10. A highly skilled employee + technology replaces 10 low-skilled ones. As a result, the service becomes cheaper for the consumer, the entrepreneur's income is higher, and the employee doesn’t complain about his/her life. Progress!
Opportunities keep emerging again and again. The most recent boom was in the realm of cryptocurrencies. But if you didn’t manage to buy bitcoin when it cost $1, you just need to wait for the next Digital Revolution and jump on the new, fast-moving train.
By the way, you won’t have to wait long, as this revolution is happening now.
3.2 Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence has been created. In the fall of 2022, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT 3.5. After this, the world will never be the same.
This AI easily passed the Turing test, learned to play chess, and passed exams at the most prestigious universities. Its capabilities double every six months, which is quite exciting. Welcome to the future.
Major tech companies have joined the AI race. The demand for AI specialists is growing at a tremendous pace. Microsoft plans to spend $100 billion just on building data centers for AI training. Other tech companies aren't lagging behind. There's monstrous competition between IT giants for anything related to AI: servers, data centers, specialists, scientists.
It turned out that the best for training AI are Nvidia A100 cards at $30,000 each. And suddenly, everyone needs them. They’re in high demand. Especially among the giant companies. Thus, Nvidia received orders (and advance payments) worth hundreds of billions of dollars in the future and is now worth more than three trillion dollars. Be like Nvidia.
3.3 How Will This Affect You?
The news is really great. First, it's already clear where the AI business is headed. Apparently, AI companies will be offering AI-as-a-service: that is, not trying to push everyone out of the market, but simply carve out a niche as AI contractors.
Secondly, any revolution, including technological, is an opportunity for quick career growth. "Can't stop it? Lead it!" So ignoring the AI revolution is unwise. It’s smarter to join. Even better — be one of the first.
Person + AI will replace a person without AI. Just like a person with a spear overcame a person with a stick, a person with a gun overcame a person with a spear, and so on. Artificial intelligence will greatly enhance the productivity of those who know how to work with it. Such specialists will be needed everywhere.
And thirdly, in the coming decade, there will be a bunch of products and internet services that will do the work of ordinary people better, faster, and cheaper. This will take the global economy to a new level.
And of course, these companies will need top-notch specialists who, using AI, will create products that, using AI, will provide services. You need to become such a person.
3.4 "You Were the Chosen One!" (c)
Will AI replace programmers? Nah. Quite the opposite. Programmers will use AI to replace all other professions. The last job to go will be programming.
Embrace the dark side. The dark side of artificial intelligence opens up pathways to abilities some consider to be unnatural...
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