Why I'm Not Worried About AI (And You Shouldn't Be Either)

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Hello and welcome back. Let's talk a little bit about AI. I think everybody knows that AI is changing a lot right now, but I don't think you should be very worried about it. At least, I'm not.



The way I see it, the things that were valuable before are still the same things that are valuable now. The real change is that there will be fewer places for people who just do the simple stuff. AI is getting rid of the "monkey work."



Creativity is the New Currency



It’s not that new junior developers can't enter the market, but you can't come in expecting to just do repetitive tasks anymore. AI will do all the monkey work for you. That means you have to be the one to bring creativity to the table and a real understanding of the problems you're trying to solve. That's your value now.



What AI really does is level the playing field. It gives the little guy a chance. That’s why now is the perfect time to start a one or two-person shop and create something truly substantial—something you wouldn't have been able to build before.



Prototype Fast, Fail Faster



Right now, if I have an idea, I don't have to agonize over whether it's worth the time commitment. Time is your most valuable resource, and you want to spend it on the right things. With AI, I can just "vibe code" a quick prototype to try my idea out. I can see if it feels right, if it actually works, and then decide if I want to move forward.



I can work with the AI to add the essential pieces—the real soul of the app—and then focus on fixing what it gets wrong. And yes, I've seen AI mess up projects. But you can always recover from that. This is exactly why I'm not worried about losing my job to AI.



The Developer's Role is Moving Up



Eventually, AI will probably be able to handle most of the coding and even understand user problems on its own. But I just see our work moving again, higher up the chain. You’ll do less of the low-level work and more of the high-level strategy.



Your job will be to:

    • Spot the right problems to solve.

    • Truly understand the user's needs.

    • Verify that the AI's solution is actually good.

    • Test your ideas at a speed that was never possible before.



I used to procrastinate because I wasn't sure which direction to go. Now, it's so much easier. I can just spin up a new project, build a prototype, and ask myself: Does this feel good? Does it solve the problem? Is this something I want to ship?



A Note for New Developers



If you're a junior developer looking to get into the industry, I think it's still a great idea. Just learn programming. The reality is, the bar is higher now. Before, you might have gotten a job doing work that, frankly, you probably shouldn't have been doing anyway. If you're good, you'll get a job. If you're not, you'll do something else.



The kind of work people used to give to mediocre developers is now done much faster by AI. Instead of you coming back with the wrong solution three times, the AI comes back with the wrong solution three times—but in a fraction of the time. It's a tool that accelerates the process, and you're the one steering it.