Reckoning with the Great Replacement
It came along sooner than we thought...
I’ve written a lot about Artificial Intelligence (AI) over the past few years (both in this Substack and in other forums). While I’ve never felt the need to redefine myself as an AI expert in order to ride the AI HypeWave (as many other IT professionals have), I still acknowledged the importance and related opportunities associated with the adoption of these technologies. The thing is though, in all of my prior discussions and examinations on the topic, I never really felt as though there was going to be any earth-shattering impacts resulting from AI, at least not near-term.
I was wrong.
While we’re not facing the much vaunted “Singularity,” (the awakening of the Computer Consciousness that will then devour the world), we are in fact facing something else nearly as problematic - right now. As of 2024, something that many are referring to as the “Great Replacement” has begun. Like most situations, it isn’t and won’t happen overnight. But it is happening and the pace of it is beginning to quicken. The “Great Replacement” refers to the replacement of humans in the workplace by AI.
In a generic sense, this isn’t the first time that this has happened. The Industrial Revolution replaced age-old human roles and capabilities, then the Information Age came along and replaced still more and then back in the factories again, robots began replacing humans on the assembly line and in warehouses and now we are facing the combination of all these types of replacements (both White Collar and Blue Collar roles). All roads have led to automation and until just recently, all such innovations brought along with them at least some new opportunities to compensate for the loss of millions of human jobs and entire roles.
This time though, the new opportunities won’t be coming along with the innovations. AI itself will be the beneficiary of nearly every new skill or need associated with adoption of other AI automation (admittedly a bleak, yet realistic outlook). If there isn’t a deliberate movement put into place (soon) that will ensure that humans remain a significant part of various professions or job roles, we will be left behind. This is a problem only many levels; economic, political, cultural and of course on a personal level for all of us.
Now many folks are trying to claim that this isn’t happening; despite a lot of fairly persuasive evidence to the contrary; including:
Elimination of roles such as Software Engineering where AI tools have already surpassed human capabilities.
Weakening of the job market for new college grads (as lower-level roles are phased out through AI replacement).
The vanishing of a number of job roles in near-real time - roles such as Customer Service Representative, Paralegal, etc.
Massive Tech layoffs even in companies making handsome profits.
The DOGE use of AI to replace Government roles (facilitating massive downsizing there of some of the best paying jobs in the country).
Admissions from the AI Overlords in Silicon Valley that this is in fact happening and that they are actively working to make it happen.
While there is not now an never have been guarantees that there will be enough jobs in any economy to support its working age population, there was at least always the expectation that when times were better more opportunities would arise. But this expectation no longer applies in the Age of AI; if employment is only measured in terms of productivity and only AI automation can continue to accelerate that productivity at the rates desired by upper management (middle and lower management will no longer exist), then the outcome is certain. The workplace will evolve beyond humans.
How will we humans reckon with this?
This is the single biggest problem that isn’t be addressed by basically anyone. It’s been talked about a little; especially lately, but absolutely no one anywhere is doing anything about it. Perhaps, it’s assumed that there’s nothing to be done - that this Great Replacement will be the inevitable and unpleasant byproduct of progress and that we’ll all just have to deal with it. Or perhaps it’s a lack of imagination and courage at play here - with the AI moguls throwing around 100’s of billions of dollars like it’s Monopoly money and few if any politicians or governments willing to get steamrolled by it. It’s hard to tell why it’s flown under the radar this long, but the reality is that it can’t stay that way much longer as more and more people are displaced. Eventually, everyone is going to notice. Then what?
The Government & Industry Perspective
What can we expect from the the official channels in relation to this? Well, in a word - nothing. While there may be some movement in Europe, even there the reaction will likely be muted as the Tech Bros steamroll forward with mega data centers, nuclear power and a mission to replace as much of the workforce as fast as they possibly can - because that’s where the profits are (cutting out not just the middleman, but every man - labor is expensive you know).
The Cultural & Personal Perspective
This is the only realm where any reaction is possible and / or likely to happen. For most people, the personal sphere will involve the need to find new employment or perhaps entire new careers as their chosen fields are swallowed up. While this isn’t historically unusual, it will be harder to accomplish this time around and may require some fairly innovative (non-AI thinking) to succeed with it.
The best chances for success will likely be where individual action meshes with collective action on the Cultural level. This will take several forms:
The creation of a separate human-centric economy (that will compete with industries bereft of human inputs). For an analogy, think of the Organic Food industry. Many thought that such a thing was impossible several decades ago, yet it has taken off and become highly successful. This type of action will require a massive grass roots organization movement and it needs to start now.
Political Pushback. Human-centric work needs to become one of the major tenets of Economic Populism. Our current path is rapidly leading society to a hyper-concentration of wealth and the decimation of the Middle Class (globally). This type of action would necessarily involve pushback against all major parties as they are all more or less compromised by big tech dollars and will therefore be deaf to all of our concerns until they are forced to hear or them (or replaced by other parties). Again, this is something that needs to start now.
Some very specific thinking about what we wish (and or need to preserve) as “human domains.” For example, losing the ability to develop critical thinking and analytical skills, (due to over-reliance on AI in Education), will cause irreparable harm to society - in fact this is already happening right now. In order to stop this and to save other areas where humans - should - be involved, we need to identify what we’re going to save now. Think of it as like an Endangered Species Act, but for us. I took a shot at doing some of this identification last year, but hardly anyone else seems to be talking about it - and time is running out.
The Great Replacement is the real-time, real-world consequence of universal AI adoption and it’s here now - largely being ignored. Not good.
Copyright 2025, Stephen Lahanas