Knowledge Workers In The Apocalypse

“Some say we’ll see Armageddon soon. I certainly hope we will.”

The “AI will take your job” narrative has been focused on essential workers — factory workers, drivers, service industry jobs — spun to attract investment and keep knowledge workers complacent. 

Essential workers operate in unpredictable environments — ones that are a struggle for AI. Meanwhile, it excels at tasks involving coding, research, planning, and design. Paralegals, recruiters, analysts, and even middle management are in the crosshairs.

Corporations are playing the short game; cut costs, boost stock prices, replace workers. Long-term, it’s self-sabotage. Corporate espionage by their own personnel policies. Mass layoffs scatter decades of institutional knowledge into the wild. Ex-employees with understanding of internal processes, inefficiencies, roadmaps, business culture, and access to equivalent technology. AI won’t just replace employees. It will replace employers.

For a moment, those who’re “right-sized” will be disoriented. But the smart ones won’t remain bewildered. They’ll realize they’ve got experience, inside information, AI tools, and an opportunity. Not to mention a customer base waiting for an improved version of their former employers business. 

The moment smart employees are downsized, they’re a potential obstacle. Because then, they can stop thinking like an employee — and start thinking like the competition. 

Exploit the Weak Spot

• A bloated process that kills productivity.

• A terrible user experience customers constantly complain about.

• An outdated system leadership refuses to change.

• A missing service dismissed as “not scalable.”

Do It Better

• Address the inefficiencies.

• Optimize the workflows.

• Personalize customer interactions.

• Provide the same service at a fraction of the cost.

• Fix their product and sell it back to them.

History can become prologue: Ex-PayPal employees built LinkedIn, Yelp, and YouTube. Ex-Amazon employees launched Anthropic. Ex-Google researchers pushed AI forward — beyond Google’s control. The true disruption? Before, it took years to build something new. Now, with AI, it could take months. These ex-employees didn’t just survive — they thrived. 

All that being said, it’s not about becoming “the next big thing.” It’s about plucking a niche from an industry they already grasp. Corporate is a gilded cage. I say, set them free. Let the chips fall where they may. Drain the moat.

“I wanna see the ground give way” ~ Ænema