Adoption looks slow. Until it doesn't.
We all talk about new AI models, the tools launching every week, and everything the technology can already do.
But I feel we're ignoring the most important problem.
The real challenge won't be creating more powerful AI. It will be building a society capable of adapting to it.
Technology is advancing at an absurd speed. Companies, governments, and institutions—not so much.
Models improve every few weeks, but changing a company is much more complicated. People need training, processes need changing, infrastructure needs investment, and teams need reorganizing.
All of that takes time.
That's why we haven't yet seen an economic shift matching AI's progress. Not necessarily because the technology can't do the work, but because we haven't reorganized the world to use it at scale.
That can create a false sense of reassurance.
Many people see that mass layoffs haven't happened yet and conclude AI was overhyped.
But major technological changes don't always happen gradually. Sometimes they build up for years, and when technology, incentives, and infrastructure align, everything changes very quickly.
I'm not saying that's necessarily how it will happen. But it's a possibility we should start preparing for.
What if AI replaces millions of jobs?
In response to that possible future, proposals such as Universal Basic Income and Elon Musk's idea of Universal High Income have emerged.
Simply put, if AI and robots produce enormous quantities of goods and services, some of that wealth would be distributed among the population.
Musk has even proposed government checks to address AI-driven unemployment. According to him, AI and robotics would increase production enough to prevent this from causing inflation.
The idea sounds good. If machines can produce almost everything at extremely low cost, theoretically we could guarantee a very high standard of living for everyone.
The problem is that many questions remain unanswered.
Who would pay for that income? How would wealth be distributed? Who would own the machines? What happens to the things that remain scarce?
Abundance doesn't mean everything becomes infinite.
Land will remain limited. The best places to live will remain scarce. Human attention, prestige, reputation, certain experiences, and access to particular communities will remain limited too.
AI can produce more things. It can't multiply everything.
The hardest problem might be purpose
Still, I think the biggest challenge might be something else.
Our identity.
When we meet someone, one of our first questions is: “What do you do?”
It isn't just any question. For many people, work isn't only a way to earn money. It's also a source of identity, purpose, recognition, and community.
What happens if work stops being necessary?
Musk has said that advances in AI and robotics could make working optional.
That sounds like a dream. But it raises complicated questions too.
How will we measure success? How will we spend our time?
For centuries, much of our lives has been organized around work. If that changes, we'll also need to change how we understand a valuable life.
That problem could be much harder to solve than the economic one.
And then there's superintelligence
There's another possibility: that one day we create systems much smarter than all of us together.
We don't know whether it will happen. We don't know when. Much less exactly what that world would look like.
But one thing does seem clear: the more powerful the technology, the more important it becomes to control and govern it properly.
That's why the conversation shouldn't be limited to asking whether AI will replace jobs. That's only part of the problem.
The real question is what kind of society we want to build if production stops being the economy's main constraint.
How we'll distribute wealth. How we'll preserve purpose. How we'll adapt our institutions to one of history's biggest changes.
AI will probably solve many problems. Our challenge will be making sure it doesn't create others that are even harder to solve.
Thank you for being part of this great community!
Pura vida!