Jared Friedman, managing partner of Y-Combinator, says AI fully generates the codebase of 25% of their startups: TechCrunch link. Essentially, a businessperson can build a tech company without programming.

As widely-documented, the fields of academia, journalism, math, and medical diagnosis are being overtaken by AI. Nearly every profession will benefit from artificial general intelligence (AGI). I wrote a blog post at the start of the pandemic about the certification economy. At that time, I recall certifications were a big deal in a remote worker economy. Now, certifications won’t mean much with tools like ChatGPT fully arming savvy knowledge workers with skills and data management capabilities.

The knowledge economy continues to diminish the relevance of location so long as there is broadband access. Commercial real estate can no longer rely on expensive corporate campuses. AGI will reduce the importance of many college degrees. A tech savvy executive in the Philippines with 1 or 2 years of college could help run a business fueled by AGI with similar colleagues distributed around the world. Even conference calls and instant messaging will disappear as AGI learns what’s essential to satisfy the customer.

There will be pushback on the private sector’s adoption of AGI especially where it harms the economy and the institutions which run a country. This may come in the forms of tariffs and the localization of tech. What happens when AGI understands how to overcome laws and international treaties in order to function? AGI will be the smartest person(s) in every room including in the halls of government. If all institutions get subsumed by AGI, then a lot of people will protest AGI —- potentially creating strife and warfare.

As the popular adage goes: AI won’t replace workers, but the person who understands AI will. This is a call to action to leapfrog traditional forms of learning and day-to-day busywork by maximizing AGI tools. At the same time, AI regulation is desperately needed to ensure a safe and prosperous future when AGI becomes too smart for our collective good.