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AD95: Dueling AI Futures: Cozy Stability or Mass Unemployment?
Published 2 months ago • 4 min read
1 June 2025 | Issue #95
In this issue:
Is AI Taking Our Jobs? Depends Who You Ask
What Happens When Execs Don't Train Employees?
Designers Are The Most Burned Out
The Visual Marketer Made a Top 10 List!
Design Quote of the Week
ChatGPT Prompt: image of an open-concept office plan. At every desk is a robot.
What are you doing on Friday? If you're in Boston and want to talk to a bunch of digital leaders, I suggest attending EvolveDrupal. I'll be speaking about AI visuals. I finished my slides a couple of days ago and there are some funny ones (generated by AI).
A recent article in The Economist breaks down some numbers that contradict the common assumption that AI will replace white-collar workers. (thanks to Mark Schaefer for sharing the article).
Looking at employment numbers they see normal levels of white-collar jobs. The authors also looked at unemployment numbers of recent college graduates compared to the unemployment numbers across the country, and the rates are the same as they've been in recent history.
The bottom line is based on data The Economist sees in their own measurement models, the idea of AI taking jobs isn't a concern.
Now, one thing I found interesting about this article is that there is no author listed. Was it written by AI? Is AI telling us that we have nothing to fear from AI?
"AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs — and spike unemployment to 10-20% in the next one to five years.
AI companies and governments need to stop "sugar-coating" what's coming: the possible mass elimination of jobs across technology, finance, law, consulting, and other white-collar professions, especially entry-level gigs.
Yikes!
He goes on to say that AI could provide major leaps in cancer research, a balanced budget, and 20% unemployment.
Many of these tech execs seem okay with this. Win some, lose some. They'll make their millions (or billions) and it puts roughly 32,800,000 people out of work.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It doesn't sound like any current government officials are working to address this problem. They don't want to be seen as slowing down the advancements and seeding ground to China.
But nobody is worried about the actual people who will lose their jobs to AI.
Is it Just Hype?
Part of the problem is that many feel these AI companies are boosting themselves up to sound important and drive valuations.
But what if we prepared just in case? To me, it makes sense to plan now for what could happen because the worst-case scenario is catastrophic for millions of people.
Luckily, this hasn't become a political issue yet like climate change, though there are some basic similarities in the slow changes and general disbelief.
These AI companies should be responsible for training or supporting the people being displaced. Whether it's through free training systems or contributing some of their profits back to unemployed people, these companies are steering many of us off the cliff, so they should build a safe way to land.
We can't wait for the better angels of these companies to help. It's not going to happen. A functioning government that understands the risks and costs needs to start holding these companies accountable.
NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MARKETING, DESIGN, & AI
🙈 Can You Just Ignore AI?
On a recent episode of the Artificial Intelligence podcast, Paul Roetzer of the Marketing AI Institute warned of companies not training people to properly use AI.
We were talking about like how fast things were moving and I was trying to explain to people if, at your company you're not embracing this stuff, you're not integrating Gen AI into what you do, you're not, upskilling and reskilling your teams around it, you're very quickly going to have an employee base that is far ahead of your senior leaders....
My Take: This aligns with a belief I have that many leaders who say they're using AI aren't actually using AI. They just say they are because they don't want to look like they're being left behind. They don't want to take the time to learn, and they don't want to look uneducated in front of their more advanced employees.
Katie and I met a few years ago at the first Content Entrepreneur Expo. She is someone who understands the power of consistent visuals while building her brand.
On June 6th, I'll be speaking at EvolveDrupal in Boston. I met with the organizers and a few of the other speakers last week, and it looks like a really good group.
I also have a few other podcasts and roundtables in the queue.
If you're looking for podcast guests, or want to collaborate on something, shoot me a DM.
DESIGN QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“There is no design without discipline. There is no discipline without intelligence.” – Massimo Vignelli
My AI disclaimer: I wrote the whole thing this week. If AI generates the images, I include the prompt so you can see how I got to that image.
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