Hey, welcome to the positive AI corner of the internet and how to survive AI!
I want to share my thoughts about how AI will change everything in next 5-10 years. I've been an engineering manager for many years, and I'm very bullish on AI - but it is transformative as it's going to eat big chunks of knowledge work. From dev teams to doctors, this wave will transform all sectors. It will not stop with transforming work but most business models? Totally different. I see this every day already in the tech world with my clients, and it's just the beginning.
Here we go:
Software Engineering & Technology Web and mobile frontends will be generated from prompts plus Figma designs and tied to backends based on API descriptions, removing the need for frontend or mobile (where the app is just an API frontend, not e.g. games) developers. Legacy Code understanding and refactoring ("Refactoring as a service") is done by LLMs. Fixing bugs (especially paper cut bugs and Heisenbugs) are being fixed in legacy codebases by LLMs. Migrations from Tech-A to Tech-B will be done by AI, or rewrites ("Gather all requirements from the codebase and then rewrite it new in XYZ"). AI frontends like Claude Code will act as the new compiler, replacing compilers like Typescript or Java, instead compiling requirements directly into code - first source code, then byte code or binary. What took a day to code can now be generated during the daily standup. Huge quantitative changes create qualitative changes. Code reviews are completely done by AIs, summaries of changes are distributed to the team if important. Testing (Unit testing, E2E) is done by AIs. In the near future, AIs will check the code generated by other AIs for bugs and security issues. Data teams will be replaced by AIs sitting on a data lake, giving insights and creating reports and dashboards - on demand or by themselves. Only plumbers needed still at that point. Roadmaps generated and evaluated by AIs for impact. "Should we build this feature?" "What is the ROI of all features and projects on the roadmap?"
Creative and Marketing Marketing agencies will be replaced by inhouse AI for assets/images and texts. As a transition agencies will be the middleman to AI and then, as every other middleman in this age, removed. Most services will become a middleman to an AI and soon later vanish. Ads fully generated with user prompts and adapted to mobile, web, print and TV. TV and YouTube Scripts written by AI, with humans only directing. Influencers will be replaced by AI generated counterparts, who can be tailored to specific audiences and continuously adapt to what works. Ideas for campaigns generated by AI for specific products and markets.
Education Tutors and homework help replaced by AI agents personalized to each student. We already see how people use ChatGPT for learning, especially language learning with voice conversations. Course creation automated based on learning objectives and data on what works. Bill Gates predicts that teachers will be replaced by AI.
Finance & Accounting Bookkeeping and tax filing done entirely by AI. Human accountants will mostly handle edge cases. Audits will be done by AIs auditing AIs and the auditing AIs audited by people. AI optimizing portfolios and investments. Bankers will be there for trust in the brand but not a lot more and for making key sales. In the age of AI, branding becomes ever more important. This goes for companies and individuals.
Healthcare Bill Gates predicts that doctors will be replaced by AI within 10 years and calls that "free intelligence". Diagnostics by AI from scans and photos etc. is already underway. Apps help people diagnose themselves and give them advice. There will be disruption and friction with regulators, especially in the EU. Mental health—AI therapists for mild to moderate cases, available 24/7 are coming - with a bumpy road ahead as we can see by some tragedies happened already. We see humans befriend AIs for companionship.
Sales Emails, demos, pitches generated by AI based on data in the data lake (there will be no classical CRM soon). AIs do outbound prospecting and you can't detect the difference; humans only step in for very complex deals or for building trust - again. The application will reach out and try the get more users on it's own.
Media Media has been on a downward spiral for decades, mostly because of replacing investigative journalism with clickbait and cut & paste. News summarization & reporting will be done in seconds with hyper-personalized news feeds. Automatic local reporting from AI, sensor data and crowdsourced images from social media. The few who survive, survive on trust, the branding and a resurgance of investigative journalism for the niche that is interested in it.
Legal Lawyers are not needed for cases and relevant (case) law review, only in court. Again personal branding will become even more important. The few lawyers left will earn even more, but many lawyers and especially paralegals will be replaced by AI.
Fashion We will get clothes and collections fully designed by AI. All models replaced by AI as we already see this (H&M replaces models with AI). Except perhaps for high fashion as a sign of luxury and for fashion shows.
The AI revolution I've outlined above represents possibly the most significant technological shift in human history. Within a decade, we can expect AI to fundamentally transform knowledge work across all sectors with several key patterns are emerging:
Middlemen Elimination: Industries that primarily serve as intermediaries between AIs and customers will be transitional and vanish.
Trust and Branding: Human involvement will remain valuable primarily in areas where trust and personal connection matter most.
Regulatory Challenges: Different regions will adapt at different rates, with some embracing AI transformation and others attempting to slow it through regulation.
Workforce Displacement: Many traditional knowledge worker roles will disappear, while new, but potentially fewer, roles focused on AI oversight, AI product engineering, and system design will emerge.
Societal Readiness Gap: Our social systems, educational institutions, and economic models are not prepared for the pace and scale of these changes.
The coming decade will require significant adaptation from individuals, businesses, and governments. Those who recognize these trends early and position themselves accordingly will have advantages, while those who resist may find themselves increasingly marginalized in the new AI-driven economy. After moving people from the agricultural sector to the industrial sector, and the move of people from the industrial sector to the service & knowledge sector, now the last sector is under pressure. Where do we move now? No society is currently prepared for these changes, making this both an exciting and concerning time of transition. The changes will be more disruptive and especially faster and earlier than people expect. Be prepared and everything will be fine!