Quick thoughts on GPT-3 and the Future of Creative Work
— https://twitter.com/jordanmoore/status/1287003468868321280

Yes, it’s only a matter of time before the AI replaces your day to day work as you know it — GPT-3 might be the one, it might be the nearest of misses before the next one.

But... this isn’t bad news. It’s the opposite. https://twitter.com/sharifshameem/status/1283322990625607681

There is a seismic shift brewing and ready to shake the UX and product industry out of a slumber.

AI is going to highlight that design and development as we know it *IS* a commodity (or at least it’ll push factory line studios out of the game).

Which means, the shape of UX, product design etc is going to radically change.

The experiences that factory line studios have been rinsing businesses for will go into rightfully into the hands of the people they were supposed to be serving.

Squarespace, Wix, Notion, Coda — they’ve been fighting the good fight to hand this power back to individuals and businesses who want to build their own destiny rather than having to go through the gatekeepers who hold the keys to design and programming.

Add all of this into the melting pot with the fastracked global digital transformation happening right now thanks to COVID and we’re looking at something that doesn’t look like anything that came before.

In short: the barrier to entry is lowering to the point of it being foolish to specialise in design or development long term.

Again, this *IS* a good thing. That “fight for the user” is going to be won in the most dramatic way.

What about the designer and the developer? Where do they fit in this brave new world?

They have two options:
- Dismiss the technological change altogether (the fearful option)
- Embrace it

This isn’t going to cut it any more.

You are not going to compete with a machine that you built the blueprints for.

Learn how to find real, human, tangible value in the things you make, not just for the user but also learn how to make profitable products.

Profit is somehow a taboo topic in our industry.

Wedding yourself to tools and methodologies is short sighted.

Building your entire identity/career around a tool or methodology is the shakiest ground you could build upon.

Instead, build skill stacks that complement your career choice.

The more human the skill stack, the better, and the less likely it is to be disrupted.

Examples:

- Design + Psychology + Creative Writing
- Architectural design + Programming
- Design + Philosophy + Economics

Skill stacking means you compete in a different game to everyone else, and the potential value you can offer to a company is greater than someone without skill stacks.

It also reduces potential damage from unforeseen disruption.

Anyway, I have more to say on all of the above, but in summary:

- We’re facing mass industry disruption
- It will be the end for rent-seeking/factory line agencies
- It will be a net positive for users and the people it affects if they move with it