There is growing unease about AI and how it impacts our jobs. While some choose denial as a coping mechanism, many are awakening to the rapid changes reshaping our work landscape. Whether we admit it or not, there is more fear and uncertainty than there is hope and optimism.
And I get it.
Fear makes sense right now. But fear is also the fastest way to shut down the very thing we need most: our creativity. And if there’s one thing we’ll need to move through this next era with any sense of direction, it’s our ability to create.
I’ve Been Here Before
I felt this level of uncertainty firsthand in 2008 when I entered the biotech industry in West Coast Canada. The sector was already volatile—low success rates, constant restructuring—but at that time, the industry was also shrinking. Companies were either shutting down or relocating eastward or overseas entirely.
I was a fresh university graduate, and I had perfectly aligned my academic path to suit the biotech sector. I’d done everything “right.” But life doesn’t always reward right. And I couldn’t just pick up and leave. My mom was on a waitlist to undergo a bone marrow transplant, and I was committed to staying close through her recovery. Relocation was off the table.
That feeling of not having control of my livelihood—the heaviness in my chest, the tensed up neck, the inability to speak up for fear of being let go—is something I’ll never forget.
And now, all these years later, it feels eerily familiar.
In 2024 alone, over 130,000 tech jobs disappeared. Layoffs swept through as companies leaned harder into AI and automation. Engineers. Writers. Designers. Analysts. People with resumes full of accomplishments were suddenly disposable.
And let’s not pretend this story is new.
The shift to manufacturing in China wasn’t about creating better opportunities for workers. It was about reducing costs and increasing margins. And if the past is any indication, the rapid adoption of AI won’t be about freeing us up for more creative, fulfilling lives—it’ll be about efficiency and profit. Again.
So what happens to us—the humans?
Uncertainty is not the enemy.
We are not powerless in the face of change. In fact, change—real, disruptive, identity-shifting change—is an invitation. It asks us to reorder, rediscover, reimagine.
The world has always been uncertain. What’s different now is the speed. But if you zoom out, humans have always adapted. Not just with grit, but with grace. With ingenuity. With curiosity. With the audacity to create something new out of something broken.
We’ve never had total control. But we’ve always had the power to respond with purpose.
The Side Hustle That Saved Me
Back to 2008. Still in biotech. Still anxious. And slowly realizing I needed a plan B.
I started small—tutoring students after work. It wasn’t glamorous. It didn’t feel impressive. But it was something that felt solid beneath my feet. Something I could build.
What started as a practical move—a buffer in case I got laid off—turned into something deeply fulfilling. I loved the connection, the creativity, the sense of actually helping someone. I loved the autonomy. I loved that I didn’t feel like a number.
The layoff did come.
But by then, I was ready. I had already built something of my own. Something that grew into a full-fledged business. A company. A livelihood. A life.
I know tutoring might not sound as cool as being a scientist, but it’s never let me down in being able to provide for myself and my family. And the irony? I’ve impacted more lives and found more meaning in that work than I ever did in the lab.
We Can’t Wait to Be Rescued
Most of us don’t want to be billionaires. We’re not chasing yachts. We just want sovereignty. Creative freedom. Meaningful work. Enough to live well and feel well.
But if we’re waiting for corporations to care, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.
The most powerful thing we can do in times of uncertainty is take the wheel back.
Not through burnout. Not through hustle. But through grounded, intentional action. Through building something—even something small—that is ours.
We’re Not Cogs. We Never Were.
I talk to so many people who feel like they’re barely holding it together at work. They’re showing up. Doing the tasks. Hitting the metrics. But inside? They’re numb. Diminished. Unseen.
They’ve become the “yes-boss” person. The quiet overachiever. The dependable one who doesn’t cause trouble.
But that life starts to wear you down. And eventually, your mind and body start to speak louder: There has to be more than this.
And I want you to know—there is.
You don’t need to quit your job tomorrow. You don’t need a flashy business plan or a million followers or a perfect pitch. You need a first step. A creative spark. A container to build something that is aligned with your values and your gifts.
This Is a Threshold Moment
What’s happening right now with AI isn’t just a tech shift—it’s a cultural threshold.
We’re being asked to decide: Will we play the role we’ve been assigned? Or will we write our own script?
We’re being asked to reclaim our agency, our art, our voice, and our value. To create work that reflects our full selves—not just our resumes. And to do it without waiting for the system to approve.
We need to remember that we are not cogs in a failing system. We are the whole damn machine.
