Yes, another AI post! I can’t help myself given the drumbeat of fear mongering headlines hitting me in the face every morning so bear with me and here goes!
Every major technology shift brings the same fear response: “This time it’s different. This time jobs are going away.”
We’ve heard it before during:
- The Industrial Revolution
- The rise of personal computers
- The internet boom
- Cloud computing
And now we’re hearing it again with AI. Valuations are soaring. Adoption is accelerating. Teams are getting leaner. So, the debate gets louder: Is AI replacing humans?? The more interesting question is this: What if AI is doing what new technology has always done, expanding opportunity?
In today’s TechCrunch, David Shim (CEO of Read AI) does an awesome job comparing AI to navigation apps.
“We used to unfold maps and decide every turn. Now Waze tells us where to go. But we’re still driving. We still decide whether to reroute. We still interpret context. We still own the outcome. AI may suggest. Humans still decide.”
There’s also a 19th century economic concept that feels very relevant right now: Jevons Principle. It says that when technology makes something more efficient, overall usage often increases, NOT decreases. When steam engines became more efficient, coal usage didn’t drop. It skyrocketed. Why? Because efficiency lowered cost, expanded use cases, and increased demand. This is one of countless examples throughout history. AI is doing the same thing.
At Ursus, we’re seeing this play out in real time. Companies aren’t hiring less. They’re hiring differently. They want professionals who can:
- Use AI tools fluently
- Create and administer automation
- Interpret outputs (not just generate them)
- Build trust and relationships machines can’t
AI may replace tasks. But roles evolve. And the humans “in the middle” become even more valuable. The value isn’t disappearing. It’s moving. And the people who move with it will lead the next chapter.
