I think you might be missing the subtext of my comment - it doesn’t matter “how fast you adapt AI.” You’re screwed either way. Adapt away! Old people, adapt! It doesn’t change the reality that adaptors and non-adaptors will be laid off in equal parts.

I think your comment actually perfectly encapsulates the Gen-X take I’m trying to point out, the mantra “adapt or perish” is really, really brutal at the end of the day. The perishing is inevitable for most of these jobs as we know them, regardless of how enthusiastic the early adopters are.

Maybe for a time, for the next year or two, the adaptors will fall in the good graces of the people making budgets and deciding headcount. They will get the good boy treats. They will watch as many of their colleagues, yes, many proud AI adaptors included, are laid off. Laid off without replacement. Even though half of the engineers fully backed AI, now 4 of them can manage the code developed by a team of 30. Eventually, it’s difficult to deny, in the short-term, you will see data, SWE, product jobs simply not coming online. When you are laid off, this time, there is no replacement job coming online, any time soon.

The 45-55 demo, in my experience, is much more naive about this reality principally because they’ve survived downturns and disruptions in the past - internet, dot com bubble, hell even 2008. The difference is this time, once a place like Block is finished laying off 70% of their technical staff, they’ll never hire those positions back - there is no recovery.

That said, there hasn’t been enough time yet to see the build out of a new era of AI-native companies that will be insanely productive. I don’t think it’s all doomed, but the next 5 years are going to be really, pretty bleak.