There is no doubt that AI will be helping to run businesses. But, there is also little doubt that existing businesses will have the wherewithal to develop the proprietary tools they need to do this work--without needing to buy it from others.

With respect to scope, it is not an overstatement to say that developing trust in AI tools enough to allow them free reign over critical business workflows may be a bridge too far. Look at self-driving car technology--that last 10% is really, really hard. So adoption will be slow and methodical.

There are no secrets. The basic model for starting and running a business (or a project) is straightforward. I like many of you have developed my own models (using AI assistance) for doing this and have been testing for months. And I like many of you have 30+ years of small business experience to back up my models.

This says nothing about the R&D happening at every major corporate & professional software services company in the world right now using the same AI tools to build their own solutions--let alone the enterprises who would be customers doing exactly the same thing.

So there is an enormous amount of competition and what I am calling a "race condition" between the crowd trying to disrupt professional services with AI-developed software and the crowd already in professional services software e.g. SAP and business in general that is doing the exact same thing--with more capable tools, more staff and much more R&D funding.

For the big companies, it's a race to survive.

Investors in startups have a tough decision to make on these small startups that have so little moat and so little prior knowledge and experience.

As an angel investor myself, I am skeptical of investing in any kind of software right now--and maybe forever.

On the plus side, every freelancer now has the power (and responsibility) to optimize their own offerings.

It's going to be very, very interesting...

From the article:

>I can’t really blame anyone who’s just gone along with things

Whst is this supposed to mean "blame"? Do you "blame" people for driving cars instead of riding horses? Do you "blame" software engineers for eliminating entire industries?

Folks, writing software can be fun and satisfying. Do it for the enjoyment. But suck it up, because the technology wave you rode to a well-paying job was always going to be short-lived for the majority of programmers.

Just like the engineers who built steam engines, or living room radios, or tube TV's, or Internet dial-up modems and long distance phone networks, or whatever other technology that has come and gone: just move on, because you helped to put those people out of work--and they moved on.

You're going to drive yourselves crazy with the constant re-hashing and sobbing over the obvious changes that are happening. Figure out how you go forward and start going forward.

I'll step up to the mic and give my opinion:

There was a time when most jobs were physically demanding in one way or another. Working on a factory production line doesn't allow much opportunity for adding creativity into your work. The answer: avocations.

My dad was a machinist--which can be a very creative job--but he always preached to me the need to have activities (creative or otherwise) outside of work. He played music, built projects in the garage, and played around with drawing and painting at home.

We are likely transitioning away (once again) from a majority of jobs that include opportunities for creativity to a majority of jobs that are just plain "work." So it's a good idea to remember that time outside of work can be the opportunity to be creative.

I can hear the comments already about no time outside of work: family, commute, etc. But remember, if you want something bad enough, you will make time for it.

I'm just as likely to neglect this fact as anyone else: we only get one chance to live. If it’s important, then make time for it.

I yield the floor.

Tierney:

"The Reign of..." https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/opinion/sunday/the-reign-...

Kinnaman:

"Is it Time to..." https://www.vox.com/2016/2/13/10972986/recycling

Kinnaman, Thomas C. "Determining the Socially Optimal Recycling Rate." Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 85, 2014, pp. 5–10, doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.11.002.

The most important lessons for students include: realistic expectations, a new vocabulary, and a real-world understanding of the complexities of building a startup.

I've worked at other universities where startups are treated more like sports to get interest and social media attention: competitions, events, socializing, etc. Those are nice things, but they are superficial in my opinion.

My advice for students would be to find opportunities to get in the trenches and experience the challenges and hardships faced by founders--those are the most important lessons.

Automation (software and mass-production equipment) has transformed our world and our lives.

I'm just some guy watching what's happened over the past 50 years. But this trend is only accelerating. There will be many more industries that are "transformed" by technology.

https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_global_issues

https://encyclopedia.uia.org/

Interestingly, one list identifies "AI" as a top world problem! One person's problem is another person's solution, I guess--and vice versa, as well.

An extreme example: curing a disease is good for patients but bad for the healthcare industry--which is (in kind) also bad for healthcare workers and everyone in science working on cures.

- Students want a credential because business and society demands a credential

- Universities want income to support their missions of research, education and other "motives"

- Professors want to do research, and they don't really want to teach (in general)

- AI is a resource for learning, assessment and project development

- Society needs educated people

What ideas do you have to make everyone satisfied and maximally functional?

I'll be presumptuous and suggest a better theme:

"Success begins and ends with the value proposition--if customers want it bad enough, you have a potential path to build something. But...don't build it if you don't care about it."

For example, a powerful technique is to take notes on everything you read--by hand, on paper. The motor-visual-processing loop is extremely powerful for learning.

Another: teach someone what you think you learned. If you can do that without your notes, you really understand it.

Check all available learning research and try to incorporate the most powerful techniques into your MVP solution--and then do community sampling again.

Keep going...

Learn how to learn. Get really good at that. That is the essence of your college experience. Perhaps consider a minor in a life science, hard technology, or other field that has good employment prospects.

Everything is software these days--it's going to be about applying software rather than pure programming skills.

Take a physics class or two. Learn how and why things work.

If your school has co-op work--do it. It raises your employment prospects at graduation.

Expect to have to consider multiple options/tracks in your career ahead. Adaptation and flexibility will be important. The world is changing quickly.

You can't study everything in college, but you will need to be ready to study and adapt in the years ahead. Good luck and do well in school.

One more thing: be social. Your network of friends will be extremely valuable to you.

It has been my experience that perhaps the most important "tentacle" not included in the post is the social network.

The more communities one belongs to, the more robust are the opportunities for that individual to find work and assistance when it's needed. Join, participate and help others--that is a good safety net.