.jpeg)
Table of Contents
Do not index
Do not index
Canonical URL
Hide CTA
Hide CTA
Related to Authors (1) (Content)
I saw a Reddit post that stopped me cold.
A developer at Microsoft - five years with the company - just got laid off. No warning, just a calendar invite. His entire team was told they're moving towards "AI-first" work.
Translation: most regular devs are out.
The comments were full of denial. "AI will create more jobs!" they said. "This is just fear-mongering!"
But I couldn't stop thinking about it. Because deep down, I know the truth.
Things are going to get way, way worse before they get any better.
The Comfortable Lie We Tell Ourselves
We've been telling ourselves a comforting story:
- AI will automate the boring stuff and free us up for creative work.
- AI will be our assistant, not our replacement.
- AI will create more jobs than it destroys.
This is the same story factory workers told themselves when automation arrived.
The same story travel agents whispered when Expedia launched.
The same story taxi drivers believed until Uber showed up.
Ask yourself - how did that work out for them?
Here's What's Actually Happening
Companies are asking one brutal question: "Why do we need you?"
And for most employees, the honest answer is: they don't.
That repeatable work you've been doing for years? That process you've mastered? That skill you spent a decade perfecting?
An AI agent can do it today, or will be able to within two years.
Companies aren't just adopting AI - they're rebuilding themselves around it.
They're going AI-first, and that means humans second. Or third. Or not at all.
The Pain That's Coming
I used to be optimistic about this transition. Not anymore.
We're about to witness massive displacement. Entire categories of work will vanish. And it won't be gradual - it'll be sudden, like that Microsoft developer discovered.
One day you're valuable. The next day you're redundant.
No loyalty. No ceremony. Just a calendar invite.
The Only Path Forward
But here's what most people miss - this isn't the end of human work. It's the end of human busywork.
In five or ten years, when every company is AI-first, only one type of human will have a job: those who figured out how to add unique, differentiated value.
What does that look like?
- You're not following processes - you're creating them
- You're not executing tasks - you're solving problems AI hasn't seen before
- You're not doing work - you're directly impacting the bottom line
If your work is a simple, repeatable set of steps, you're already obsolete. The company just hasn't realized it yet.
The Uncomfortable Truth About Survival
Surviving this transition requires something most people don't have: an appetite for constant reinvention.
You need to:
- Upskill relentlessly - What you know today won't matter in two years
- Work WITH AI - Stop pretending it's going away
- Get uncomfortable - Your comfort zone is a death trap
- Attach yourself to revenue - If you can't explain how you make or save money, you're expendable
This isn't about taking a course or getting a certification. This is about fundamentally reimagining your relationship with work.
Ask Yourself This
Look at your daily tasks.
Be honest:
- How many could an AI do right now?
- How many will an AI be able to do in two years?
- What's left?
If the answer scares you - good. Fear is the appropriate response.
Because here's the thing: that Microsoft developer probably felt secure too. Five years at a major tech company. Solid skills. Good reviews. Skyrocketing package.
None of it mattered when the AI-first mandate came down.
As my friend (and fellow roach) Arvindh said:
He wasn’t a roach, he was a lion stuck in a cage, struggling to adapt to a new reality that there will be no free food delivered to his den.
He will need to go out and hunt for food himself.
You Can't Escape the Suck. Embrace the Suck!
This transition will be painful. People will lose jobs. Careers will end. Dreams will shatter.
We need massive reskilling programs. We need new educational systems. We need a complete reimagining of work itself.
But waiting for "we" to solve this is a luxury YOU don't have.
The only question that matters is - When AI comes for your job - and it will - what will you have that it doesn't?
If you don't have an answer, you'd better start looking for one.
Today.
Because that calendar invite? It's already being drafted.
