AI Hunger Games arena: You’re not out of a job (yet), but stay sharp
Once again, humanity has entered a sort of a survival game where technology advancements are turning our world upside down.
By Cybernews
Once again, humanity has entered a sort of a survival game where technology advancements are turning our world upside down.
- AI is disrupting the job market.
- Online publishers declare sharply declining traffic. That leads to significant changes in business models, which often also means layoffs
- Best strategy to adapt - learn some AI skill as candidates "fluent in AI" are more desirable
What’s happening? Publishers around the world are reporting major drops in traffic due to Google AI Overviews, a useful feature that’s changing the way we interact with the internet. Our changing habits, in turn, have a huge influence on the ways businesses operate.
And they’re being forced to adapt fast. Business Insider has recently announced a 21% reduction in its staff, prioritizing its more promising business areas and betting big on AI. But that’s “only” around 100 people in total. I say “only” because it’s not a huge number, but for those affected by the layoffs, it is a life-changing decision.
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At least they informed their staff of the changes they were making and the reasoning behind them. Many companies don’t even have the decency to do that.
TechCrunch has apparently let go of all of its European staff. Again, this is a big change for some, but not yet industry-shattering news.
“We face possibly the most exciting time ever in the tech industry. To say that there is plenty happening in technology is an understatement. How Europe shapes its own tech future is becoming increasingly relevant, especially geopolitically,” Mike Butcher, Founding Editor at TechCrunch, who was made redundant after 18 years of “service”, writes on his LinkedIn page.
Go on and read his entire post – it is such a nice way to say goodbye. It’s not the “goodbye” post many would share after being let go.
If you were working at Meta and got a “below expectations” review just because of some quota they made up so they can fire people at lower costs, how cheerful would your “goodbye” be?
So, this one report by SEO pros says that 25-40% of small-to-medium publishers might be facing an extinction event if they do nothing during the AI revolution. A report from the World Economic Forum offers a bigger picture, saying that AI will have a huge impact on the job market but not on economic growth.
The conclusion? Well, you can either hide your head in the sand and deny all the changes that are happening, or you can try and learn some AI skills. I’ve talked to quite a few developers for my upcoming article on vibe coding, and everyone feels that AI seeping into our everyday work routine is inevitable.
No matter how much you hate it, welcome to the AI Hunger Games.
