With its uses, players, controversies, and consumers multiplying exponentially, a rapid period of transition is on the horizon, where professionals will have to choose between obsolescence, adaptation, or reinvention.

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Over the hundred days of 2023, my conversations with Molano (a close friend with a great mind) have revolved mostly around the unprecedented impact of artificial intelligence on human existence - both current and future - and how we are gradually discovering and appropriating it to fit our professional context and everyday lives.

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Through constant and interactive use, we have discovered an "amazing" executive who investigates and analyzes, generates conclusions and implications, discovers and interprets semiotic connotations (like Molano making ChatGPT associate Enneagram profiles and animal symbols to define target consumers for a new product), creates compelling stories, develops innovative methodologies and concepts, identifies core elements in business strategy, understands patterns used by competitors, defines consumer insights, and more.

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It is a list of talents and capabilities that continues to grow daily. A study by the University of Pennsylvania shows that approximately 80% of the US workforce could have at least 10% of their job tasks affected by the introduction of artificial intelligence, while around 19% of workers will see at least 50% of their tasks impacted, with this influence affecting all income levels, with higher-paying positions potentially experiencing greater impact.

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However, at this point, this is no longer a surprise to most. According to a survey of 17,000 people in 35 countries conducted by KPMG and the University of Queensland, while 82% of the sample has heard of the topic, almost half are unclear about how and when it is being used (49%), three out of five people (61%) do not trust artificial intelligence or are ambivalent about it... and the most important point looking forward: Two out of five people are afraid that artificial intelligence will replace their jobs.

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Corporate executives and business leaders already have artificial intelligence on their radar: According to a survey conducted by labor platform Resumebuilder.com of 1,000 leaders, almost half of the US companies surveyed have already implemented ChatGPT in their operations: 66% for coding, 58% for document creation and content, 57% for customer service, and 52% for meeting summaries, revealing two "futuristic" realities: For 55% of these surveyed entrepreneurs creating jobs, the quality of ChatGPT's work is "excellent." 90% believe that having experience and knowledge in artificial intelligence will be critical in hiring new professionals by fiscal year 2024.

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It seems that very soon we will be welcoming "AI-NXIETY," a trend that will talk about: 1. Individual and collective uncertainty generated by the ramifications of artificial intelligence on human creativity and its eventual replacement. 2. A sense of loss of authorship and credibility over the reality around us (whether it is created by humans or machines).

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Regarding the first point, it seems that professionals have three options to find their way in this new reality: Adaptation: Understand that beyond the jobs and tasks that artificial intelligence will replace, professionals who can use the tool to improve and make work more efficient will be more valuable and relevant to the job market.

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For Riley Brown, content creator on the subject (https://www.tiktok.com/@rileybrown.ai), the formula is about "focus and consistency, taking the tool that they have seen could really serve them and try it out, avoiding getting stuck in reading about new releases and experts, because they will end up focusing on following the evolution of artificial intelligence, instead of using it for their benefit." Obsolescence: Make the decision to stay in a position where they can witness the arrival and mass adoption of artificial intelligence without having to participate in it to survive and progress, understanding the possibility of eventually becoming replaceable.

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For Paul Mardsen, an artificial intelligence consultant for several years, this process is a growing risk because "the speed at which tools are developed, adopted by companies, and an increasing group of users, versus the capacity of the education system and users on a mass scale to keep up, can make this obsolescence happen even faster." Reinvention: Understand and accept the grandiosity of this moment and choose to change the central foundations of their work through artificial intelligence or simply take a new direction and start doing something (like an unfinished hobby) where the dependence on the tool is minimal.

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For Yannis Kavounis of Descartes&Mauss, a research firm with a focus on understanding and using artificial intelligence, this is the best path "if one considers that there are certain analysis processes that tools do better, our new role as researchers should focus on taking that learning to this generative version to create better findings and opportunities for businesses." While it seems that artificial intelligence is mostly used by a group of "LinkedIn early adopters" today, we must keep in mind that it will soon be part of our daily lives. When we respond to a group chat, send follow-up emails, make presentations, coordinate schedules, and execute plans, artificial intelligence will be there.

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This is a moment that seems to fill several entrepreneurs (like Elon), institutions, and academics with fear and uncertainty, as they begin to call for a "halt in the road" to create the rules and ethics of labor intelligence so that its exceptional ability does not end in inevitable human replacement. Thus, the labor world is migrating from its "Beta state" based on constant updates of what exists to an era focused on the feeling of "Perpetual Change," which quickly finds ways to replace what exists and is established consistently and consecutively.

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Obsolescence, adaptation, or reinvention, you decide on which side of the future labor world you want to be, there is no wrong answer. P.S. On the second point... the loss of authorship and credibility over the reality around us, remember that humans feel and observe uniquely and deeply, we have that gift... It's no wonder that psychedelia is back in the Zeitgeist. It seems to be here to remind us of our humanity. Molano would say it is correct.

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