Maybe I was a little too brash with the title. But I feel that there is no other straightforward way to pass this message with any more urgency. Because whether we like it or not, the advent of AI is pushing the trajectory of the world as we know it in an irrevocable direction.

Trending innovation or passing fad?

It seems like there is always a new technological trend that emerges once every few years. Some trends fade in and out of relevance much quicker than others. Take crypto for example. I remember when crypto emerged in global importance and relevance sometime in 2018. Crypto had been around for much longer but people only began to pay attention to it then

Within two years, crypto had become the biggest thing tech and at the heart of Web 3.0. Everyone was trading in crypto and it became the hottest investment portfolio. Remember during the height of the COVID pandemic when everyone suddenly accepted crypto as a transactional currency? When Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) were a thing? (I believe these were a particular insult to our collective intelligence but hey, that’s just an opinion)

Nowadays, it feels like everyone just suddenly lost interest in crypto and it is creeping back to the dark abyss from whence it came from. Don’t get me wrong, the value of crypto has been rising tremendously after a tumultuous period particularly in 2022 when every crypto investment seemed like a scam waiting to happen. I feel that the crypto ecosystem has benefitted from the reduced attention it is getting as it has allowed the value of crypto to an all-time high.

Our society is constantly on the lookout for the next best thing to be a part of. It is just human nature, I guess, to want to stay relevant with everyone else. Tech only exacerbates this desire each of us operates from our small, secluded corner of the internet. We are constantly staring into the dark and seemingly endless void that is the internet through the lens of echo chambers that are our phones, laptops, and desktops. We are constantly chasing the high of satisfying our premonitions, predispositions, and affirmations for our social proof biases.

Read more: Of culture wars, social media and the death of free thought.

It becomes especially worrisome when there’s money to be made. Suddenly, there is an insatiable urge to not only fit in with the latest trends but also not to miss out on money-making opportunities. However, many people lack an understanding of how to invest in such opportunities, and they are hence easy prey for the grifters and ‘self-made gurus’ who prey upon their desperation to get in on the act.

Simply put, many of these trends follow a very predictable and cyclical pattern. They start off as viable, niche business ventures that so happen to garner mainstream attention. Everyone and their grandmother will want to invest in this new incredibly profitable venture. The market becomes oversaturated and scammers will take advantage of that to provide ‘backdoor’ solutions for everyone who is still interested in buying in.

However, the attention eventually dies down and everyone seemingly moves on to something else. Think back to the Dot-com Bubble, or Dropshipping and Affiliate Marketing, or the internet’s recent dalliance with Crypto.

AI might just be one of those ‘new trends’. And the thing is that it probably is. There is a reason why every company in the world claims to be using AI in some way, shape, or form. AI has the internet in a chokehold, you cannot talk about anything related to tech in 2025 and fail to mention AI. And that’s probably a good thing.

AI, unlike crypto, for example, has developed out of necessity for its use. Crypto didn’t emerge because there was a lack of a transactional tool, I mean currencies have existed for as long as modern society has existed. It instead purported to solve a problem that it had to create in the first place; the scarcity of a global, decentralized currency.

Again, don’t get me wrong, crypto has its own important uses that no other form of currency can fulfill. However, it can only be relegated to a secluded niche of tech and the global economy – for now. I definitely do not need to use crypto to buy groceries or a takeout lunch at KFC.

AI, however, will be at the heart of everything we do in tech in the coming days. One can even argue that it, in fact, already is. Technology favors automation. The only reason we are living through the modern age is because of the integration of automated machinery that does much of the heavy lifting for us.

A horse might have only taken you so far, so fast but an inanimate engine that only needs you to feed it copious amounts of fuel can do so much better. A few workers could build a car in a couple of days, but integrating robotized machines can build more vehicles in a single day. It follows that as the tech age rolls along, we will only find a way to automate more because doing so grants us the gift of convenience. And human beings love convenience.

The joys of humanly convenience

I didn’t realize how much convenience AI brings until I started tinkering around with it a sometime ago. I sometimes struggle with generating content for my blog from scratch; Or organizing ideas into a legible and comprehensible format. Well, with AI, that is a piece of cake. It means I can focus on coming up with ideas and let the technology handle the nitty-gritty of making it make sense.

And I’m not saying that the technology is infallible. AI has its flaws and there are many. I’m pretty sure there are countless articles on the internet talking about that. But trust me, this is the worst place the technology can be. It only gets better from here.

So what does all this mean for us, mere mortals? Well, the future couldn’t look any brighter! I dare to stand up and speak against all the fear-mongering that has been going around, a fear built about vilifying AI like it’s the enemy.

AI is not meant to replace humans. I don’t know if I should put that in caps. Lemme say that again, AI IS NOT MEANT TO REPLACE HUMANS. AI is indeed modeled after humans, that I won’t disagree with. However, AI is a TOOL built to ENHANCE what humans do. Think of it as a glove, designed to look like and fit around a human hand.

AI cannot work without human input, just like your car that cannot drive itself anywhere without you controlling where and how it goes. It is the human element that makes technology work. All because, and I cannot say this enough, technology is meant to enhance the human experience.

AI will make doing things easier. I mean, look around you and the tech you use and how it makes your life easier. AI is supposed to be an extension of that.

Chances are AI might end up creating more jobs for us human folk. 50 years ago, for example, it would have been impossible to imagine that one could generate an entire living just by working behind a computer screen, in the comfort of their home. Today, people working in tech earn some of the highest salaries globally. A huge chunk of Fortune 500 companies are in the tech industry.

So, do not be an obstinate snob who is an enemy of change, you might miss the train while everyone else is getting on board. A couple of years from now, you’ll be sulking at why you didn’t jump on this bandwagon soon enough.