Will AI Replace You Or Reward You?

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Another day, another AI exec telling us how fucked we are as white-collar workers.

At what point does it just start going over our heads?

Honestly, I don’t even know where these dire warnings land on the fear spectrum anymore.

Somewhere between “nothing to worry about” and “curl up in a ball and give up.”

Me? I’m thinking it’s somewhere in the middle.

But even with all the doom, I’m still optimistic.

Because if you know how to look for it, big change almost always means big opportunity.

And we’ve seen this movie before.

Let’s talk about it…

More White Collar Doom and Gloom

So yeah—last week, the CEO of Anthropic, Dario Amodei (formerly VP at OpenAI), came out and basically said:

Okay, he didn’t say it like that. But close enough.

In a recent interview, he said AI could eliminate up to 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs in the next five years and drive unemployment to 10–20%.

Not truck drivers. Not warehouse workers.

White collar peeps.

Finance, law, tech, consulting - those were his big red flags.

He even said the public and government are sleepwalking into this, adding:

Neat huh?

But then my cynical Gen X teen voice whispers…

Haven’t we’ve heard stuff like this before?

We’ve Seen This Movie

Remember Y2K?

Or when AutoCAD was gonna eliminate drafting jobs?

I lived that one. (Here's how I handled it).

Or the internet “killing” jobs. Or outsourcing. Or offshoring.

Every time, people panicked.

And every time, a few people spotted the gaps early and built something from it.

Because while everyone else was yelling about the sky falling, those people were busy cashing in.

Where There’s Change, There’s Gold

AI is moving fast. Faster than anything we’ve seen.

But the trick isn’t to fear it—it’s to spot the gaps it creates.

As Chris Lochhead says:

Those problems?

Opportunities.

New niches. New pain points. New markets. New products.

And if you know how to look - you’ll start seeing your opportunity hiding in plain sight.

Opportunity Is a Mindset

This isn’t just about AI.

It’s about learning how to zoom out and see what’s happening from a different angle.

And I’ve written more about this exact mindset here:

• Your Individuality = Opportunity

• Turn Life’s Milestones Into Business Ideas

Once you see it, it’s hard to unsee it.

The hard part isn’t finding the idea, it’s figuring out which ones to act on. (which is a whole other post.)

For example…

Random Opportunity I Saw Last Week

I came across this Gary Vee clip where he talks about live social shopping being the next big thing.

It’s like QVC meets TikTok.

Side note, in case you didn’t know Gary Vee is short for Gary Vaynerchuk. Over the years, he's been REALLY good at identifying opportunities, at least directionally.

Anyway, he got me thinking… could I sell software or AI tools using my affiliate links via livestream? 🤔 

Not saying I’m diving in yet but it’s definitely on my radar.

The point is, if you train your brain to look for ideas like this, they start showing up everywhere.

There’s actually a name for this. That effect is called the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.

Like when I you buy a red car you start seeing red cars everywhere.

Here’s the whole interview with Gary if your interested.

Speaking of Interviews: I Was on a Podcast

I was on The Streamlined Solopreneur podcast with Joe Casabona recently.

The title says we talked about AI (and we did), but the real juice was in the back-and-forth about transitioning out of traditional jobs and building work that fits your life.

Joe’s in a similar season to where I was 10–15 years ago: small kids, trying to build something on the side, searching for time and meaning.

You can listen here…

Try This AI Prompt to Help You Spot Opportunity

If you want to get your wheels turning, try this prompt inside ChatGPT:

“I’m a [your age] year-old professional with experience in [your industry or key skills]. I’m curious how I could turn my knowledge or interests into a side hustle or digital product. Please list 5 current trends or problems where someone like me could offer value—and give one idea for how I could test or monetize each.”

Or try this one for career pivot ideas:

“Based on my experience in [field], what are some AI-assisted ways I could stay relevant, automate work, or transition into a more flexible, semi-retired role over the next 2–3 years?”

This isn’t magic. But it will get your wheels turning.

Some of the best business ideas aren’t born from genius, they’re born from better questions.

And prompts like these help you ask them faster.

Music of the Week:

“Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac

This song came on during the (very disappointing) finale of The Handmaid’s Tale, ended up on one of my Spotify playlists and connected the dots with the theme of this post when I was driving.

It's written as a song about change in relationships, but it lands just as hard if you’re reflecting on career or purpose.

Listen again and think about your career situation, see if you agree.

Such a great song.

Anywho…

Big Takeaway

AI might wreck some jobs.
But if you're willing to play offense—not just defense—there’s still massive upside.

Every disruption is an invitation to reinvent yourself.

Not from scratch.

From experience.

So here’s the question I’ll leave you with:

What’s one change you’re seeing that might just be your next opportunity?

Let me know,

Corey

P.S. Be sure to check out one of my favorite AI newsletters…