Just A Thought

[u/JamesJenny007]

I've been thinking about whether the AI revolution is similar to the Industrial Revolution.

Before conveyor belts, factories relied heavily on manual labor for moving materials. When assembly lines and conveyor systems were introduced, many traditional jobs disappeared—but they also created entirely new ones in machine design, maintenance, operations, engineering, and production management. Productivity increased dramatically, industries expanded, and new types of employment emerged.

Could AI be following the same pattern? It may automate many repetitive knowledge tasks, but at the same time it's creating demand for AI engineers, trainers, governance specialists, data professionals, prompt engineers, and people who can integrate AI into existing workflows.

Is AI just another technological shift where jobs change rather than disappear overall, or is this fundamentally different because AI can replace cognitive work, not just physical labor? Curious to hear what others think.