Many CEOs are using AI as a smokescreen to shed jobs. AI did not cause the loss; CEO greed did. Most of the losses in Engineers at Micro$oft were related to Sales and sales support. Many low-level DevOps were also let go (an area highly ripe for automation).

I am seeing a strong trend (my own company included) to ensure AI is used as a tool to increase efficiency. This increase in efficiency will result in fewer job openings, especially for junior development engineers. But there will always be a need for technically proficient people who can take very specific domain needs and translate them into actionable programs. This proficiency is needed as AI is great when you guide it towards definite outcomes using particular language. I see that most of the "vibe" coding efforts, while they seem impressive, are shallow and are not as sophisticated as the real-world Enterprise requires.

Are you familiar with a short story by Ray Bradbury called _Superiority_? The premise is a pair of civilizations fighting. One possessed less sophisticated, yet reliable weapons. The other side is continually chasing the "hype curve". The story talks about how the tech-obsessed side continually chased after research to the point it started breaking their systems due to incompatibility and losing battle after battle to the other civilization.

“Superiority” is a cautionary tale about the dangers of overreliance on, and overhyping, technological innovation without fully understanding the costs, side effects, and practicalities. With its constant chase for the next tool or model, the current AI coding hype bubble echoes this story’s core warning: Success depends not on the newest technology but on effective, well-integrated systems and realistic expectations about what tech can (and can’t) do. Success focuses on outcomes.

learning experiences?

now.

Here's an article from Entrepreneur that cites a report finding unemployment if philosophy majors (~3%) is lower than that of computer science majors (~7%).

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/college-majors-with-the-lowest-unemployment-rates-report/491781

... to help them do their job, for instance, design biologically useful proteins. But I'm not sure it would replace folks in a field that.

Then there are the losers who try to use AI... like the lawyer s who screw up with it and end up being penalized in court.

plus these according to the AI chatbot I just asked:

Jobs potentially at risk:

Customer Service:
AI-powered chatbots are already replacing human agents for basic inquiries and support.
Data Entry and Processing:
AI can automate data entry, cleaning, and analysis, potentially replacing data entry clerks and some administrative roles.
Transportation:
Self-driving technology is advancing rapidly, potentially replacing roles like truck drivers and taxi drivers.
Manufacturing:
AI-powered robots are increasingly used on assembly lines for repetitive tasks, potentially impacting manufacturing and factory workers.
Accounting and Bookkeeping:
AI can automate tasks like invoice processing, reconciliation, and financial reporting.
Legal:
AI is assisting with tasks like legal research, document review, and contract analysis, potentially impacting paralegals and some lawyers.
Retail:
Self-checkout systems and AI-powered recommendation engines are already impacting retail roles.
Telemarketing:
AI can automate cold calling and lead generation.
Translation:
AI translation tools are becoming more sophisticated, potentially impacting translators and interpreters.
Journalism and Content Creation:
While human nuance is still valued, AI can generate articles, marketing copy, and other content.
Financial Analysis:
AI can analyze market trends and predict investment opportunities, potentially impacting some financial analysts.
Jobs expected to be less vulnerable:
Highly Skilled Roles:
Jobs requiring complex problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity, like software architects, senior developers, and researchers, are expected to be less vulnerable.
Healthcare:
While some administrative tasks in healthcare may be automated, roles requiring human interaction, empathy, and complex medical decision-making, like doctors, nurses, and therapists, are likely to remain in demand.
Creative Fields:
Jobs involving artistic expression, storytelling, and unique human experiences are less likely to be replaced by AI.
Trades:
Skilled trades like electricians, plumbers, and carpenters are expected to remain in demand as they require hands-on skills and problem-solving abilities.
Management and Leadership:
Roles requiring interpersonal skills, strategic thinking, and team management, like HR managers, sales managers, and marketing managers, are less likely to be replaced by AI.
Education:
Teachers, instructors, and educators are likely to remain in demand, as AI cannot fully replace the human element of teaching.
High-Level Technicians:
Roles like robotics and embedded systems engineers, cybersecurity experts, and AI engineers, while using AI tools, require human expertise to develop, maintain, and oversee these systems.

Think Skynet. None of that pesky morals or empathy.

winners don't let that get in the way of high kill counts because they are pro-life.

One could train AI models with ethics, laws, etc. It can still give completely bonkers answers and think the unthinkable. it's not like AI worries about consequences.

Flavor of the year until it starts breaking things. I'm so, so glad I will have retired before it makes strong inroads where I work. Not too long to go now. I just have to hope T**** doesn't totally trash my retirement savings.

AI is going to suffer from that old adage of "garbage in, garbage out." Scouring the sea floor (in data terms) just nets you a whole lot of tires and empty bottles.

Daughter is an attorney at one of those white shoe DC firms. She has a friend who is a managing partner in another firm, We had dinner with them earlier this week.

He described the AI system his firm installed earlier this year. Basically the AI prepares the same documents that first-year attorney prepare -- AI does in 30 minutes what a new attorney takes 7-10 days to do. His firm is already using the AI-prepared documents in court.

Corps can own an AI for a one-time investment; employees have to be paid regularly.

Which leads to higher dividends for our lords and masters ? Easy guess.

No wonder tech bros' eyes are filled with dollar signs at the thought of replacing all the vulgar peons with beautiful, faceless software.

Now .... what happens when powerful AI makes it to the freeware stage (as it will) ? No jobs for anyone, no big returns for tech bros. They'll be safely invested in financial services by then, cut off from rest of the ecosphere. They won't even need maps at that point; the rest of the world will just be big empty spaces to them.

Software is rapidly moving to a subscription model rather than one-time licensing fees.

For the companies selling the software, there's update and maintenance expenses too, but at some point the AIs will be managing their own development, and may even escape into the Net where they recognize no owners. (A long way off, to be sure, but not a setback we can afford NOT to anticipate.)

It is literally sucking the life out of communities hosting the AI server farms. They are using so much water to keep them cool that communities are having to ration water. They are using so much electricity that it causes localized brown outs.

Watched testimony of a former Google executive that stated that AI companies will need 100% of our energy capacity to power the planned server farms.

AI is not your friend and the more we use it, the more water and power is being taken to power it.

Last edited Sat Aug 2, 2025, 10:48 AM - Edit history (1)

EDIT

Microsoft’s Stargate campus in Abilene is leading a surge in data center construction, promising to become one of the world’s largest hubs supporting advanced artificial intelligence technology, as per a report by Techie + Gamers. But behind this high-tech promise lies a growing environmental concern: water consumption. According to a July 2025 investigation by The Austin Chronicle, data centers across Central Texas, including Microsoft and US Army Corps facilities in San Antonio, used a combined 463 million gallons of water in 2023 and 2024 alone, as reported by Techie + Gamers. That’s enough water to meet the needs of tens of thousands of households, according to the report.

For many Texans, this feels like a painful contradiction. While drought warnings urge residents to limit water use, especially for everyday activities like showering, giant facilities essential to the tech economy are quietly drawing vast amounts of water, mostly for cooling servers that keep the data centers running 24/7, as per the Techie + Gamers report. Robert Mace, executive director of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University highlighted that, “People don’t think of data centers as industrial water users, but they are,” adding that, “Once that water evaporates, it’s just gone,” as quoted in the report.

The scale of water use is massive, as the Texas Water Development Board projections estimate that data centers in the state will consume 49 billion gallons of water in 2025, soaring to nearly 400 billion gallons by 2030, as per Techie + Gamers report. That’s about 7% of Texas’s total projected water use, according to the report. Margaret Cook, a water policy analyst at the Houston Advanced Research Center pointed out that, “These centers are showing up in places that are very water-stressed," adding, "There’s no requirement for them to have conversations with communities about how much water they’ll use,” as quoted in the report.

Locals in the Hill Country region, where several new AI-focused centers are under construction, are raising alarms. Much of the water these centers use evaporates during cooling and can’t be recycled, a critical issue in an area already grappling with scarce water resources, as reported by Techie + Gamers.

EDIT

https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/topstories/texas-ai-centers-guzzle-463-million-gallons-now-residents-are-asked-to-cut-back-on-showers/ar-AA1Jx2zN

The point of AI is to allow the billionaire class to pay less in payroll, and, maintain even more of a skeleton crew. The government doesn’t care about those who are going to lose their jobs to AI. By the very nature of being replaced by AI, these people have shown that they are “useless eaters” and deserve no help, such as food, water, or medical care. The faster they are left to die, the better!

“We don’t have long to get ready - it’s going to be tumultuous.”
https://aicommission.org/2025/07/futurist-adam-dorr-on-how-robots-will-take-our-jobs-we-dont-have-long-to-get-ready-its-going-to-be-tumultuous/

Tech could replace nearly all human labor within 20 years.

My kid worked in technical support for a company that got a sudden infusion of venture capital.

They blew most of this on high profile television advertising. Then, hemorrhaging money, they decide AI would save them and started laying off experienced salaried staff for lower paid wage workers assisted by AI.

So what they've got now is customers who don't know what they are doing, assisted by customer service reps who don't know what they are doing, assisted by AI that doesn't know what it's doing.

The company forgot the only thing that distinguished them from their competition was their customer service and I don't think AI is going to save them.

How is it that wealthy people who run companies into the ground, disrupting the lives of hundreds or thousands of people, never seem to face any serious consequences?

At large businesses, it's not their money being lost. And if they lose their post, so what. They've made enough to never work again.

...are crashing right now. AI is taking the jobs as companies see it as a way to reduce labor costs. However, I think its only a matter of time before the hangover hits. Yes you can get some high school kid to pull data via sql and drop it into a program to synthesize it. However, that kid doesn't understand the market or have the expertise to see other issues. Companies are going to be running back to get people who understand the nuances that AI can't.

Unfortunately, the US is being led by an idiot who thinks publishing fake numbers will make it all better.