I didn't want to derail the good thread on AI and physics, but how does AI change the advice you give your high school aged kids about what to study in college...or to even go to college?

Kids have strengths and weaknesses. Does AI level the playing field or at least devalue certain skillsets?

Is engineering still a top major considering what AI can do to entry level and even mid level jobs?

No traditional job, except maybe politician, is safe from being replaced by AI and AI robots. My only advise is to make your money now.

Plumber

Stability is a construct. Be adaptable.

In parallel with a college degree, get licensed as an electrician, plumber, or welder.

Martin Q. Blank said:

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In parallel with a college degree, get licensed as an electrician, plumber, or welder.

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This is good. I'd add HVAC, which I believe requires both electrical and plumbing licenses.

We are - like most of the developed world - in population decline. That is going to mitigate the impact of AI. I would still encourage kids to pursue STEM degrees, but to also seriously consider the trades. The goal being to ultimately own a business and have others working for you that actually crawl under the houses (e.g. plumbing).

I feel quite safe in the project development sphere. AI can not do what we do, but it has been quite useful in the regulatory, contracts and legal spaces for us. It has saved us ten of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Phatbob said:

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Stability is a construct. Be adaptable.

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this is an answer, but this is such a step change in technology, it'll be a disruption like no other. like when word processors came available, every secretary and typist lost their job as professionals were expected to do their own letter and report writing. This will be orders of magnitude more impactful and quicker than that.

Martin Q. Blank said:

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In parallel with a college degree, get licensed as an electrician, plumber, or welder.

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even the trades will be replaced with AI robots. we already have robotic welders in the field in the pipeline business...they've been in manufacturing for a much longer time. Heck, i even saw a prototype of a robotic roofer the other day.

I tend to believe that hard work and pride in that work will win out. However, when push comes to shove, would you really give advice to go learn plumbing or electric work to a very bright student who would otherwise attend a top engineering or medical school?

I'm in Med Device sales for Johnson and Johnson. One has to have a degree to get hired, however we don't mandate what the degree is in. I have a hard time really advising someone bright to not go to college. Is that because we are in a transition?

Kids? This is going to affect everyone, and very very quickly. I am expecting unemployment numbers to tick up through 2026 and get really bad in 2027 with major impacts on any information type of jobs (including software and white collar jobs sitting behind a computer).

In the early 2030s even most physical/manual jobs will be able to be done by humanoid or specialist robots. Including plumbers and electricians and mechanics....

People and society are not prepared....how could they be?

Even if you have a bunch of money saved, what is the value of that money if the economy is cratered? People aren't working, not paying taxes, have no money to put into the economy....

The futuristic ideal of "abundance" is possible on paper, but the process to get there from here has the potential to be quite dystopian and tragic.

Logos Stick said:

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We are - like most of the developed world - in population decline. That is going to mitigate the impact of AI. I would still encourage kids to pursue STEM degrees, but to also seriously consider the trades. The goal being to ultimately own a business and have others working for you that actually crawl under the houses (e.g. plumbing).

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I can't see a scenario in the future-

where a robot could not replace humans crawling under houses

Chetos said:

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No traditional job, except maybe politician, is safe from being replaced by AI and AI robots. My only advise is to make your money now.

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I'm ready for our AI overlords. Replace the politicians!

Good grief, some of you must be the most negative, miserable people to be around.

In other words, what are the top skillsets of the future?

- Performing (acting, athletics, public speaking, story telling, etc..)
- Selling (persuasive, quick wit, adaptable chameleon, etc...)
- Presenting (owning a room, adapting to an audience)

Sazerac said:

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Kids? This is going to affect everyone, and very very quickly. I am expecting unemployment numbers to tick up through 2026 and get really bad in 2027 with major impacts on any information type of jobs (including software and white collar jobs sitting behind a computer).

In the early 2030s even most physical/manual jobs will be able to be done by humanoid or specialist robots. Including plumbers and electricians and mechanics....

People and society are not prepared....how could they be?

Even if you have a bunch of money saved, what is the value of that money if the economy is cratered? People aren't working, not paying taxes, have no money to put into the economy....

The futuristic ideal of "abundance" is possible on paper, but the process to get there from here has the potential to be quite dystopian and tragic.

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Sazerac said:

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Kids? This is going to affect everyone, and very very quickly. I am expecting unemployment numbers to tick up through 2026 and get really bad in 2027 with major impacts on any information type of jobs (including software and white collar jobs sitting behind a computer).

In the early 2030s even most physical/manual jobs will be able to be done by humanoid or specialist robots. Including plumbers and electricians and mechanics....

People and society are not prepared....how could they be?

Even if you have a bunch of money saved, what is the value of that money if the economy is cratered? People aren't working, not paying taxes, have no money to put into the economy....

The futuristic ideal of "abundance" is possible on paper, but the process to get there from here has the potential to be quite dystopian and tragic.

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Unemployment for college grads and people in their 20s is already pushing 10%, right now. Not totally due to AI, but it's certainly going to continue creating headwinds for them.

There needs to be a rapid rethink of academic focus and specialties by universities. There are kids in majors right now that have become endangered or extinct almost overnight.

I think the smart thing to do would be to still go STEM with a practical/physical focus and lean in hard to AI to figure out how you can leverage it.

If your job is primarily interacting with a computer screen, you better be prepared to change and adapt. Cubicle world will not exist in 5-10 years.

I have tried in every way to coach my kids to find a job that requires you to either interact with people directly or seek a skill in the trades with the goal of owning a business in the trades.

Using your brain to analyze or type information into a computer for a useful output is going to go the way of the buggy whip manufacturer.

Engineering with practical capabilities -get your kid fixing **** and being good with their hands today.

Kids, or your grandkids....its going to be a MUCH different world. I have no idea what it looks like.

The more I see, hear and think about AI, I think AGI and ASI coming in a few years is a hoax.

We are going to have very awesome LLMs that have the knowledge base that will surpass PhDs in their fields, but they are not going to be apply it without human intervention and replicate human creativity any time soon.

I would advise a college freshman to focus on AI and being able to interact with it.

Hogties said:

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If your job is primarily interacting with a computer screen, you better be prepared to change and adapt. Cubicle world will not exist in 5-10 years.

I have tried in every way to coach my kids to find a job that requires you to either interact with people directly or seek a skill in the trades with the goal of owning a business in the trades.

Using your brain to analyze or type information into a computer for a useful output is going to go the way of the buggy whip manufacturer.

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Nothing to add save a star.

Quito said:

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In other words, what are the top skillsets of the future?

- Performing (acting, athletics, public speaking, story telling, etc..)
- Selling (persuasive, quick whit, adaptable chameleon, etc...)
- Presenting (owning a room, adapting to an audience)

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Be witty enough to not care a whit about misspelling.

Sales

BlackGold said:

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I feel quite safe in the project development sphere. AI can not do what we do, but it has been quite useful in the regulatory, contracts and legal spaces for us. It has saved us ten of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

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LOL naive. Utterly naive.

An L of an Ag said:

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Quito said:

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In other words, what are the top skillsets of the future?

- Performing (acting, athletics, public speaking, story telling, etc..)
- Selling (persuasive, quick whit, adaptable chameleon, etc...)
- Presenting (owning a room, adapting to an audience)

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Be witty enough to not care a whit about misspelling.

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Oops, AI didn't catch that one!

My son's old little league coach is a wealthy owner of a successful HVAC company. I have been talking to him about helping my son get started in that business.

This. Sell AI solutions to those in danger of being put out by AI.

Chetos said:

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Martin Q. Blank said:

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In parallel with a college degree, get licensed as an electrician, plumber, or welder.

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even the trades will be replaced with AI robots. we already have robotic welders in the field in the pipeline business...they've been in manufacturing for a much longer time. Heck, i even saw a prototype of a robotic roofer the other day.

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we should all be praying for the day that robots can build a house

no more illegal aliens

who "have to build our homes in the USA"

Tex117 said:

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BlackGold said:

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I feel quite safe in the project development sphere. AI can not do what we do, but it has been quite useful in the regulatory, contracts and legal spaces for us. It has saved us ten of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

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LOL naive. Utterly naive.

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Show me some AI platform that is developing, building and operating power and energy infrastructure projects, or any physical project. Generating a novel idea, getting the right parties involved, negotiating offtake, modeling financials, getting funding, working with EPCs, construction, regulatory permitting, negotiating contracts, etc, etc. The list goes on. AI as it stands, is simply not capable of bundling all of these inputs together to get a project built. Again, great for writing up contracts and sifting through legal junk and helping out with some engineering here and there, but ultimately it's just a tool to assist. Thanks for worrying about me though.

Does the real downfall occur when robotics and AI mature equally? The only robots I see that work well are large industrial type machines in factories. The experimental robots with human appendages are clumsy pieces of chit. If robotics achieves dexterity on par with humans coupled with AI then that would be the big game changer to meZ