January 4, 2025 — I recently read a fascinating piece by Avital Balwit, where she explores the idea that rapidly advancing artificial intelligence might soon take over most (if not all) of our jobs. Just as smartphones transformed our daily routines, AI is going to transform our working lives—but to a much greater degree. Balwit’s reflections made me wonder how strongly our identities, social bonds, and personal goals are bound up in this thing we call “work,” and what will become of those facets of life if we suddenly don’t need jobs at all.

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The Question We Rarely Ask Ourselves: Is Work Really Essential?

Balwit cites various studies suggesting that unemployment often leads to stress, anxiety, or even declining physical health. It’s common to blame “being out of a job” for such issues, but she highlights something important: much of that negative fallout is closely tied to money problems and the stigma of joblessness. If people had guaranteed income or robust social support—basically removing the shame of not having a job—would the damage to our well-being be the same? It’s a provocative question.

I find it especially relevant because our culture is built around productivity. We’re used to equating work with income, success, and identity. Yet Balwit emphasizes that work also has intangible benefits—status, social meaning, a sense of belonging. Perhaps that’s why people often see unemployment as a personal failure rather than just “not working.” The article suggests that, in a future run by AI, we might need entirely new ways to forge community and purpose if we lose our old job titles.

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Baking the Next AI “Cake”

One of Balwit’s memorable analogies compares training a new AI model to baking a cake. You first gather the ingredients (data and algorithms) and then “stick it in the oven” (run it on massive computing clusters). Once it’s done, you can add icing or decorations (smaller tweaks and refinements), but the main capabilities have already formed. This image underscores how improvements in AI typically happen in leaps. People often think AI has plateaued when, in reality, there’s simply another “cake” still in the oven. By the time it’s out, it’s more advanced than many of us imagined possible only a few months prior.

Reading this part of the piece reminded me that technology’s pace isn’t linear. All those quiet months can suddenly give rise to a model that surpasses entire cohorts of human workers, especially in remote-friendly tasks like writing, analyzing, or coding. If we’re perpetually surprised by the leaps, maybe we need to accept that—even if AI isn’t yet perfect—it might soon handle the kind of work that keeps many people employed today.

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Nostalgic Professions and Aristocrats

Balwit also speculates about “nostalgic professions”—jobs that aren’t necessarily out of AI’s reach, but remain preferred in human hands because they hinge on genuine human connection. Think counselors, doulas, or preschool teachers. While machines could potentially mimic empathy, there may be enduring demand for a real person’s warmth. Even certain crafts might stay human-driven if customers value the personal touch in, say, artisanal jewelry or a hand-tailored suit.

This notion makes me think of historical aristocracies who lived with plenty of leisure time and minimal economic pressures, filling their days with social engagements, arts, or philanthropic pursuits. Not all of them languished in idleness—some sponsored painters and composers, advanced scientific inquiry, or cultivated elaborate traditions that still influence us. Balwit’s piece invites us to see that, in a world where machines do most of our drudge work, we could become “aristocrats” of creativity and discovery, channeling free time into more fulfilling or socially rich pursuits.

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Finding Purpose Beyond the Paycheck

Reading the article also prompted me to ask: can we be happy, or even thrive, if we’re no longer needed in the office or on the factory floor? Balwit points out that people often enjoy vacations or retirement, especially when financial and social supports are in place. If a future society were to guarantee basic income, could we treat every day more like a weekend—focusing on personal growth, relationships, and meaningful projects?

Of course, if you’re anything like me, the idea of mass automation has a sci-fi vibe that’s both exciting and slightly unsettling. It’s easy to imagine a dystopian scenario where people feel aimless once they lose their jobs. Yet Balwit’s perspective is that AI could also help us find solutions to the very problems it creates. If super-intelligent systems can design factories and write code, perhaps they can also guide us in shaping more meaningful lives when wage labor disappears.

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My Final Reflection

What I love most about Balwit’s piece is how it reframes “the end of work” not solely as an economic crisis, but as an opportunity. She’s not dismissing the challenges—financial instability and loss of self-worth are real threats. But she’s nudging us to question whether we truly want to chain our sense of purpose to the 9-to-5 structure forever. It’s a candid, provocative read that left me with both curiosity and hope.

Yes, the transition to a post-work world would be messy. But maybe, if we plan carefully—rethinking social norms, ensuring a fair distribution of resources, and embracing “nostalgic” or relationship-centric fields—our societies can emerge richer in creativity and well-being. After all, none of us dreamt as kids about working a menial desk job for decades. Perhaps AI will free us to rediscover the pursuits that make us truly human: dance, art, invention, relationships, and a deeper sense of purpose. If that’s our future, I, for one, look forward to it.