Here is your blog post for My Core Pick.

The Future of AI: Are We Ready for What Comes Next?

I remember the first time I used a generative AI tool.

It wasn’t just a "wow" moment; it was a shiver down my spine.

For years, we treated Artificial Intelligence as something distant—a sci-fi trope reserved for flying cars and robot butlers.

But suddenly, it was here. It was writing poetry, debugging code, and creating art in seconds.

The pace of innovation isn't just fast; it’s blistering.

Every week feels like a decade of progress.

We are standing on the precipice of the most significant technological shift since the invention of the internet. Perhaps even fire.

But amidst the excitement of new tools and efficiencies, a looming question remains.

Are we actually ready for this?

Let’s dive into what the future looks like and, more importantly, how we fit into it.

The Velocity of Change

Humans are wired to think linearly.

If I take 30 linear steps, I end up across the room.

But technology, specifically AI, evolves exponentially.

If I take 30 exponential steps, I circle the Earth twenty-six times.

We are currently at that knee of the curve where the line goes vertical.

The end of "Legacy" Thinking

For decades, software was static.

You learned a tool like Excel or Photoshop, and that knowledge remained relevant for years.

Updates were incremental.

Now, software learns from you.

The tools we use today might be obsolete in six months, replaced by agents that do the work for us.

This requires a massive mental shift.

We can no longer rely on "what worked yesterday."

We have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable sensation of constant flux.

The Ubiquity Factor

AI is no longer just a chatbot in a browser window.

It is being woven into the fabric of our operating systems.

It’s in our phones, our cars, and our home appliances.

Soon, interacting with AI will be as invisible and automatic as using electricity.

We won't "use AI"; we will just live in a world powered by it.

The Workplace Revolution: Copilot or Captain?

This is the topic that keeps most of us up at night.

Will a robot take my job?

It’s a valid fear, but I believe the reality is more nuanced.

AI isn't coming for your job; it’s coming for your tasks.

The Death of Drudgery

Think about how much of your day is spent on repetitive work.

Answering routine emails, scheduling meetings, formatting data.

These are the tasks that AI will swallow whole.

And honestly? We should let it.

If AI can handle the "boring" 40% of our workload, we theoretically gain time back.

We gain the bandwidth to think deeply and strategically.

The Rise of the Hybrid Worker

The future belongs to the "AI-Augmented" human.

I like to think of it as having a super-smart intern available 24/7.

The workers who thrive won't necessarily be the best coders or writers.

They will be the best editors, curators, and directors of AI output.

The skill of the future isn't just doing the work.

It is knowing how to ask the right questions to get the best result.

The Disruption of Expertise

However, there is a flip side.

Junior-level tasks are often how we learn to be experts.

If AI writes the first draft, how do junior employees learn the struggle of creation?

We need to rethink mentorship and training entirely.

We have to ensure we aren't hollowing out the ladder of skill development.

The Ethical Minefield

If the workplace changes are the waves on the surface, the ethical issues are the currents underneath.

We are handing over decision-making power to algorithms.

Are those algorithms fair?

The "Black Box" Problem

Deep learning models are often described as "black boxes."

We know what data goes in, and we see what comes out.

But we don't always know exactly how the model reached its conclusion.

In healthcare or criminal justice, this is terrifying.

If an AI denies a loan or misdiagnoses a patient, we need to know why.

We cannot accept "because the computer said so" as an answer.

The Truth Crisis

We are entering an era where seeing is no longer believing.

Deepfakes and AI-generated voices are becoming indistinguishable from reality.

I recently saw a video of a world leader saying something they never said.

It looked perfect.

How do we maintain a shared reality when truth can be synthesized?

We will likely need new verification technologies.

Digital watermarks and blockchain authentication might become standard for news media.

Bias and Mirroring

AI learns from the internet.

And the internet is full of human biases, prejudices, and ugliness.

If we aren't careful, AI will simply hold up a mirror to our worst traits.

It could automate discrimination at a scale we’ve never seen.

Fixing this requires active, human intervention in how we train these models.

The Quest for AGI (Artificial General Intelligence)

Right now, we have "Narrow AI."

It is really good at specific tasks, like playing chess or writing text.

But the holy grail is AGI.

This is an intelligence that can learn any intellectual task that a human can do.

The Timeline Debate

Some experts think AGI is decades away.

Others think we could see it within five years.

Regardless of the timeline, the implications are staggering.

An AGI could theoretically solve problems we’ve been stuck on for centuries.

It could cure diseases, solve clean energy, and unlock interstellar travel.

The Control Problem

But with super-intelligence comes the alignment problem.

How do we ensure a super-intelligent system has goals that align with human welfare?

It sounds like a movie plot, but it’s a serious engineering challenge.

We need to build safety rails before the train leaves the station.

Once an entity is smarter than us, we can’t exactly turn it off if it decides it doesn't want to be turned off.

How to Future-Proof Yourself

So, if the ground is shifting beneath our feet, how do we stand firm?

Panic is not a strategy.

Preparation is.

Here is how I am personally preparing for the next phase.

1. Lean Into Your Humanity

There are things AI cannot do.

It cannot feel empathy. It cannot understand nuance in human relationships.

It cannot lead a team through a crisis with emotional intelligence.

Soft skills are becoming hard currency.

Focus on your ability to connect, negotiate, and empathize.

Those are the jobs that are safest.

2. Become Tech-Fluent

You don't need to be a computer scientist.

But you cannot afford to be tech-illiterate.

Play with the new tools.

Understand the terminology.

Know the difference between a Large Language Model and a diffusion model.

Fear comes from the unknown.

The more you understand how these tools work, the less scary they become.

3. Cultivate Adaptability (AQ)

IQ (Intelligence Quotient) used to be the gold standard.

Then came EQ (Emotional Quotient).

Now, I believe the most important metric is AQ: Adaptability Quotient.

How quickly can you unlearn old habits and relearn new ones?

Your degree or your past job title matters less than your ability to pivot.

Stay curious. Keep learning.

Treat your career as a laboratory, not a factory.

The Final Verdict

Are we ready for what comes next?

In truth? Probably not.

Humanity is rarely "ready" for massive revolutions.

We weren't ready for the steam engine, and we weren't ready for the smartphone.

We stumbled, we made mistakes, and we adapted.

The future of AI is not pre-determined.

It is not a meteor heading for Earth that we just have to watch.

It is a tool that we are building.

We get to decide how it is used.

We get to decide where the guardrails go.

The future is going to be weird, wild, and challenging.

But if we stay engaged, ethical, and human, it can also be incredibly bright.

Let’s not just watch the future happen.

Let’s help shape it.