Millions of Agents. Armies of Robots.
Over the last four weeks, I spent my weekends working with ChatGPT to put together some actionable information for my adult children—something that might help them navigate a world where AI and robots are embedded into nearly every aspect of life. It’s coming way faster than most people think, and within ten years, the world will be a profoundly different place.
My first post, To the Class of 2030, is a quiet wake-up call for my kids—and their generation—about the world they’re walking into. It’s changing fast, with AI and robotics already reshaping work, decision-making, and what it means to be useful.
The letter to the Class of 2030 was inspired by the AI 2027 scenario—a sharp glimpse into a near future where AI doesn’t just assist but acts. It helped me see how close we might be to real shifts in how society functions—and why this class can’t afford to wait until graduation to start thinking clearly about the road ahead.
The profound takeaways from this post should be simple enough to remember, but unsettling enough to matter:
First: AIs will build AIs that will build more AIs. Robots will build robots that will build more robots. This won’t happen slowly. It will feel like it arrived overnight—driven by geopolitical urgency, with nations racing to gain strategic advantage through autonomous systems that no longer need human oversight to improve themselves.
Second: The world no longer needs more people who can execute efficiently. It needs people who can decide wisely. The work of flawless execution is being handed off to software agents and robotic systems that don’t sleep, don’t pause, and don’t burn out. In this new landscape, what’s scarce isn’t output—it’s judgment. The future belongs to those who can see clearly, think critically, and choose wisely—especially when the pace of change makes it hard to even tell what game we're playing.
The second post in this series, Rethinking the Climb: Education in the Age of AI, zooms in on what this all means for how we learn. It challenges the long-standing idea that education is a ladder you climb once. Instead, it suggests that in a world shaped by intelligent systems, the ability to climb again—and differently—will matter more than ever.
The third post, Rethinking the Climb: Careers in the Age of AI and Robotics, brings the conversation down to ground level—focusing on real jobs, real industries, and the kinds of work that will either thrive or fade in the decade ahead. It offers a rough map for navigating careers in a world where human value is being redefined.
These posts aren’t predictions. They’re preparation. I’m not trying to map out the entire future—I’m trying to point to the sharp corners forming just ahead. If these essays help my kids (or yours) ask better questions, challenge their assumptions, or take ownership of their path a little earlier, then they’ve done their job.