So we now have several artificial intelligence applications from: ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, Claude, and others on the way. All of these are helpful in my opinion. Many are being used in ways we did not expect, such as ChatGPT’s proclivity to act as an immediately available therapist.
The issue of course is that now we have an even taller mountain of content to climb up. There is a cacophony of noise to rise above or make peace with. As an old pro, I prefer the approach of telling myself, “it’s all just too much.”
Why I am not too worried about all the new large language models, agentic AI applications, or even the model context protocol? First, I have decided to leap forward in time to see what’s next. Second, I had trouble making myself interested in just reading about agentic AI and others aspects. Third, someone has to put it all together to help others make sense of the disparate responses. Finally, I like doing some of the hands-on work myself. So let me break these down and tell you why your job and work are safe from AI. Even as a dedicated job hunter it’s possible to out manuever the AI applications and applicant tracking systems. Read on to learn how I did it.
In all seriousness I tried everything to see what the logical steps are. You can match word for word in the requirements of the job application. This does not do anything other than overwhelm the poor recruiters. Don’t just shove words onto a page. Use style. Think about fashion. It’s always new and always changing. Imagine what is not there and you will get you ahead of the competition that just uses logic. Do you need help seeing the edges or what’s next? There is a whole group of people dedicated to it. They are called artists. They come in different varieties with different specialties. Employ and use several artists in your business and you will never be behind the competition.
The next option was making it more interesting. You can say the hell with it and start your own business. If you do this, which does feel good, then make sure you read my other article titled, “What are you selling?”
Now I am going to get really serious, put on your hardhat on for this next point. Basically the nature of our work and what work is has changed. That is the truth you have to wrestle with. The old paradigms and processes like, return to the office, have changed. Most people could work remote just fine. Do you miss the camaraderie and visiting with your bestie. Yes, of course. However, the real reason is because much of corporate leadership has made massive capital investments into the building and structures and they want to see you in person. It’s an old paradigm and will go away eventually. It is of course dependent on what type of industry you work in. Even I can make my own software applications now with AI and deploy them to my own website. Of course I am oversimplifying it. Software to some degree is becoming commoditized and no longer just generated by software engineers. I suspect the next steps will be everyone trying to optimize their source code. Be careful and make sure you read Coco Krumme’s book: Optimal Illusions: The False Promise of Optimization.
So looking far forward what can we expect? The old cartoon, The Jetson’s, comes to mind. Which reminds me, where the hell are the flying cars?! I was promised flying cars and I am still waiting! All I can really say by way of encouragement is to stay close to your work. Like an artist, make sure you can see the outcome and are connected to it. The farther we get from it whether up the corporate ladder or by having others do the work the worse it is for our mental resiliency. Or you can say, “It’s all just too much. I’m not going back, at least until tomorrow.”