The Arrival of the AI Era

The Arrival of the AI Era is one of the works in the illustrated story collection AI Times: An Illustrated Guide.

Today, we have entered a brand-new AI era! We are not sure whether this era will bring us more good fortune and hope, or more misfortune and disaster. But no matter what, it has already arrived!All right! Since it has arrived, let us face it bravely!

As is well known, artificial intelligence technology and related intelligent equipment will have two very obvious characteristics. The first characteristic is that they can complete many work tasks that humans cannot complete; perhaps in this regard, more wonderful new things will emerge. The second characteristic is that they will replace humans and independently complete a large amount of work; in this regard, a new wave of unemployment will also emerge.

It is certain that the developers and investors of artificial intelligence technology will become the biggest beneficiaries of the AI era! They will quickly acquire enormous fortunes worth hundreds of billions of dollars, or even tens of billions of dollars! Today, in 2026, some billionaires have already emerged; meanwhile, more ordinary people have become paying users! As you know, we need to pay an increasing number of bills, such as bills for AI writing tools, image-generation tools, video-production tools, robots, self-driving cars, and more.

Perhaps various AI tools are bringing people new experiences and opportunities to make money, such as short-video creators and robot sellers; however, an increasing number of people are feeling a crisis of survival that has already arrived, such as writers, graphic designers, programmers, movers, production-line workers, pickers, lawyers, data analysts, teachers, and others. In terms of the number of people, I would say it is 2%:98%, or 1%:99%. Do you see it? This is indeed terrifying!

You did not read it wrong! More wealth will quickly become the private wealth of a very small number of people, while more people may face the threats of long-term unemployment, reduced income, inability to repay credit cards, inability to repay loans, and having no money to pay rent! Although advocates tell you that the AI era is merely an inevitable stage of human development, just like when humans invented the steam engine! That also seems to be correct! Horse-drawn carriages disappeared, and automobiles appeared! But today, a large number of jobs are disappearing, while the number of newly created jobs is very limited!

Although the AI era is promoted as being full of hope, curiosity, and beauty, in the illustrated story collection AI Times: An Illustrated Guide, you will see or hear a truthful voice! It may include the joy of those who benefit, and it may also include the sorrow of those who lose their jobs.

All right! Let us face it together! In my subsequent works, we will research, analyze, and present them one by one!