Hustle While It Lasts

It's interesting when a season has a delayed start!

I wonder what life is going to be like when a lot of the "jobs" get removed from the equation because of the automation that occurs with AI. There are certainly going to be a lot of jobs that take a really long time to get replaced, and hopefully I have one of them.. on many fronts at least!

My contracting job is thankfully one that will take a LOT longer for it to be replaced by computers and robots and things. It takes a lot of physical effort and different components that don't easily translate well into a single functioning robot. Robots and AI models are pretty good at their individual tasks, but when you add many complex tasks and having to pay attention to surroundings and additional layers, it starts to thankfully get wonky for the machines. This means that people will be doing these jobs for a long time, which is a relief at least.

The nature of work is both interesting and important. It gives us a sense of purpose and a bit of an identity. We shouldn't make it our WHOLE identity but it can contain a big portion of it that's for sure. With that identity comes lots of other benefits socially and mentally.

I was really getting to enjoy working at the contracting place regularly. We had great people, good banter and got to do some decent and fun work. I was dismayed when the normal season ended up not being so normal, and I got maybe one or two shifts.. lamesauce!

I got a text the other day that they needed some work! I was pretty excited and immediately said yes, so that I can make some extra cash but also spend some time in a different environment with people and maybe learn a little more that day. This is where I was thinking about the work I do, and how it is for sure great in my primary job, but how long will my primary job last is the question?

I have what they would call "knowledge work" in what I do for my primary job. It's really fun and fascinating stuff, but for some odd reason there is a gigantic push to eliminate knowledge work instead of eliminating manual labor first. You would think that it might be easier or faster to supplant the factory jobs but strangely, the AI algorithms are pretty hell-bent on the knowledge stuff.

I am fortunate in that I have several back-up plans.. I would rather not have to implement those backup plans, but having them is a fantastic insulator to all of the chaos. I know I am incredibly fortunate and lucky to have multiple back up plans in case the job market becomes difficult, but it's hard not to shake that feeling in the day we live in. The crazy and sad part is the system is also hell bent on inflating the shit out of everything from a cost perspective, so while people might be losing jobs, their damn costs don't go down, they freaking go up! Fuckers. lol.

I think with the contract work, I am lucky to take it one day at a time. The time spent out of the house can be tough, but keeping my skills up and retained for the eventuality that the knowledge work I do will be eliminated, is a bit of a bitter pill to swallow.

I drifted a little bit in the content and context of the post.. but I think it's a lot about the modern struggles we are facing with the large scale unemployment that is likely on the horizon for many people. We can never assume we will not be in one of the categories!

What about you, do you have other things you could do if your primary job is eliminated with AI? How do you feel about that? Let me know in the comments!