Are older workers getting pushed out of jobs in various industries by AI? I offer a contrarian perspective. I think older workers have a distinct advantage in an AI-driven world specifically because of their experience, subject matter expertise and perspectives. Read on to find out.

Last year, at about this time, I predicted that at the end of Q2 2025 or the beginning of Q3, we’d see the beginnings of a moral panic around large organizations - corporations and governments - using generative and agentic AI to replace white collar workers.

This is now happening. Read on to learn five steps you can take to thrive in the AI-driven workplace

Several readers suggested that I write about vulnerable populations in an Age of AI. Take seniors for example. Already, digital life is bewildering and disempowering for many who are not familiar with ins and outs of the internet and smartphones. Imagine how confusing it is now for those folks — it is hard for them to tell what is real and what is fake. An AI avatar or a digital image can seem more real than the real thing to many.

Imagine the feeling of powerlessness, vulnerability and helplessness that older people — or any one who is uncomfortable with the complexities of digital life — in a world peopled by AI agents who convincingly look like fake people.

We are deep into the digital age now. The transition to a digital life started with mass media in the 1950s and accelerated with the web and social media is now in high gear with generative artificial intelligence. Information is easier to access, knowledge of current events is nearly instantaneous, and we have the possibility to connect with pretty much anyone, anywhere. It all seems so surreal, so awesome.

So why are we so unhappy? Why do we feel like there is something wrong? Why do we have a feeling that things are not as they seem or should be?

Dr. Korinek says some pretty shocking things in this interview, in a calm and quiet tone. The labour shortages we have talked about for so many years may soon be made irrelevant, when a significant portion of white collar and other procedural work is replaced and structural unemployment soars.

Korinek's advice as an economist is that the best thing a person can learn right now is how to use AI as a force multiplier in their work. That means we are heading away from a written culture toward a much more oral one.

New world coming. Learn AI or become irrelevant.