Computers are useful.
If you want to do a large calculation, or filter a heap of data, or store a bunch of information, they’re your best bet.
There’s just one problem:
When our computers get old, we toss them.
When a better processor or a sleeker form factor gets released, the market is gripped with shiny object syndrome. We ditch the old in favour of the new.
Sure, the iPhone 3 was a technological marvel on release. But nowadays, it functions more like a paperweight.
Bottom line — when a piece of technology operates in a specific domain, it has two options: be the best in its class, or take a trip to the local landfill.
The same happens with humans.
For instance, imagine you’re a bankruptcy lawyer.
You studied hard in Law School, and learned everything there is to know about your field. Your wife is impressed, your clients are happy, and you make more money than your brother-in-law (i.e., you’re rich).
Until one day, when something happens…
A few regulations get tweaked. Tech entrepreneurs flood in.
Suddenly, a huge chunk of your job is being performed by a computer (perhaps wielding some fancy new AI capabilities with an unnecessarily futuristic name).
Your earning power plummets overnight.
Your wife starts looking at you differently. Your clients start switching to AI lawyers. Your brother-in-law buys a nicer BMW than yours.
This example is extreme, but plausible.
The more narrow your skillset, the more easily you can be replaced.
Sure, you could cross your fingers and hope that regulatory boards full of well-paid paper pushers add enough red tape to stave off technological innovation. But I wouldn’t bank on it over the long term.
So what's the solution?
We need to somehow avoid being compared to computers.
I can think of 3 ways to do this:
1) Operate across multiple, disparate domains. This lets you hide out in areas that computers are less likely to reach (at least, for the time being).
2) Learn to harness computers. This turns technological advancement into an exponential tailwind, rather than an impending headwind.
3) Get good at marketing, selling, leading, and negotiating. To the degree that human interaction stays relevant, this adds an extra layer of leverage to your decisions.
I once heard someone say: “learn to sell, then learn whatever you want”.
He meant that, once you can package and deliver knowledge to the market in exchange for money, the specific format/kind of knowledge is almost irrelevant.
Perhaps, nowadays, a better heuristic would be:
Learn full-stack marketing, learn full-stack programming, then learn as many other rare (unrelated) skills as possible.
That oughta keep the humanoid robots at bay for at least another 15 minutes...