#72 The AI Agent Revolution Was Not What We Expected
A Story From the Future
Okay, so today's Trend Hacker Future story? Yeah, it might give you some dark vibes. But hey, I'm an optimist at heart. As a society, I truly believe that we need those extremes to find our balance. If both ends of the spectrum are out there, we'll eventually level ourselves out. But it's worth exploring both, right?
So, in this story, let's dive into some potentially unsettling thoughts about those AI agents – yes, the very same ones everyone's talking about today. We keep hearing the same old tune: "People will have more time for hobbies, family, and other stuff!" But hold on, don’t we forget that we're smack-dab in the middle of a mental health crisis, economic troubles are piling up, and loneliness is, like, a full-blown epidemic?
So, how might all this play out if we let our imaginations run wild in a less-than-ideal direction? To explore that, let's check out Olaf’s dystopian reflection.
Consider his story a cautionary tale, a glimpse into a future we might want to avoid. It's a reminder to keep the full spectrum of possibilities in mind. Because, you know, forewarned is forearmed and all that.
Hi, I'm Olaf, and I remember a utopian 2025. I remember the late 2020s when people said AI would change our lives, that we'd have more free time, less hustle, and could enjoy life more. However, this is only a reality for a few in 2035. Let me explain.
The hype about AI agents started in 2024, and the media picked it up later. There were some early adopter companies that tried it and backpedaled later, but the change was immediate. In the late 2020s, AI agents became really capable. And yes, we had time to prepare, but many of us, including me, were hustling through day by day, having neither the knowledge nor the time to explore the technology.
I used to work in product development. Now, AI agents take it over, talking to AI stakeholder bots, market research, and interacting with AI developer bots and AI marketing bots all in seconds, and frankly, it's better than I ever was if you know what exactly you need. All those years I spent honing my craft... turns out, none of it mattered in the face of an algorithm, and society got satisfied with the mediocre that always worked somehow.
So, we just lived our lives trying to cope with the absurdity of daily life. Though we knew something was up, something would change. There were stories from people saying that their lives were better now, referring to the old historical meme that AI should support us with household chores so we could focus on work.
But what if we don't have work anymore? Then they said we should focus on our hobbies and human connection so that we'd have time to be human again. Yet this was absurd, as many of us lived from month to month. It was like saying, “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche," we should eat cake when we can't even afford bread. Well, the person who said that lost their head, though today, we are losing ours over how to cope with the situation. And honestly, all that "human touch" talk? Well, people prefer to relate to some cheap bot that immerses them in their bubble world, reinforcing their opinions to the extreme.
The thing about "we," friends, and founding family? Well, people have lost their human touch and can't really find their way back to it. Most days, people just wander aimlessly, glued to their personalized entertainment feeds, trying to escape the emptiness. It's a hollow existence. Sometimes, I look at the AI-generated art, the music, the stories, and I have to admit, it's... beautiful. It's just a shame that beauty came at such a cost.
AI agents were not smart; they were a typical process innovation tool, making processes more efficient, which paid off very well. Then, they got stronger and more integrated.
I was in product development. Now, it's all AI agents. They chatter with AI stakeholder bots, scrape their market research, and bounce ideas off AI dev bots and AI marketing bots - all in seconds. And you know what? For a quick and dirty solution, they are probably better than I ever was. Mediocre, you say? Doesn't sell? It does. People got used to the normal stuff. And for the fancy, exclusive products, they still keep a few humans around.
Creativity? Well, mostly gone, but most sell formulaic work anyway. Was there some countermovement? Yes, sure, but the market is small. There's a weird market for "artisanal" human experiences now. People pay a premium for things like hand-written letters or human-performed music. It is small and incomparable to the AI quality, but a minority still prefers the human touch.
The result? Society is just a joke. The middle class was destroyed, social welfare was cut even lower, and the gap between the haves and have-nots increased. The worst part of it? No one cares about the others anymore. Those who owned the AI, the algorithms, and the data reaped the benefits while the rest of us scrambled for the scraps. The promise of a more leisurely life turned into a struggle for survival. The dream of more free time became a nightmare of endless boredom and uncertainty.
This is the reality of 2035. The AI revolution didn't liberate us; it created a new form of digital feudalism, where a select few hold all the power, and the rest of us are just trying to get by. And the worst part? We saw it coming, but we were too busy just trying to make it through the day to do anything about it.
Now, we’re left to wonder: Is this the future we wanted? Is this the future we deserve? I still hope there can be a new purpose in an AI world where we are not replaced but can live beside our creations. Yet, some nights, I lie awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering what will happen to us. What happens when there's truly nothing left for us to do?