Fiverr CEO: "AI is Coming For Your Jobs"

[Gritsngravy]

AI could create a 'Mad Max' scenario where everyone's skills are basically worthless, a top economist says

MIT economist David Autor said on the "Possible" podcast that AI may lead to a world where jobs remain but skills are devalued.

www.businessinsider.com

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AI could create a 'Mad Max' scenario where everyone's skills are basically worthless, a top economist says​

By Thibault Spirlet

As AI reshapes the labor market, the real threat isn't job loss — it's the collapse in what skills are worth, says MIT economist David Autor. Wei Dongsheng/VCG via Getty Images

Jul 3, 2025, 8:21 AM ET

• Tech leaders and some economists have warned that AI could trigger mass unemployment.
• Economist David Autor believes AI won't kill jobs and could instead create a "Mad Max" scenario.
• It could make your skills less valuable and your paycheck smaller, the MIT professor said.

As AI reshapes the labor market, the real threat may not be unemployment — it could be something subtler and more corrosive: the collapse in what skills are worth.

That's according to MIT economist David Autor, who made the comments in an interview released Wednesday on the "Possible" podcast, hosted by LinkedIn cofounder Reed Hoffman.

Autor warned that rapid automation could usher in what he calls a "Mad Max" scenario — a world where jobs still exist, but the skills that once generated wages become cheap and commoditized.

"The more likely scenario to me looks much more like Mad Max: Fury Road, where everybody is competing over a few remaining resources that aren't controlled by some warlord somewhere," he said.

The reference, drawn from the dystopian film series set in a post-collapse world of scarcity and inequality, captures Autor's fear that AI could concentrate wealth and power at the top while leaving most workers to fight over what's left.

While several economists and some tech CEOs worry AI could displace millions of workers, Autor argued that the damage may play out differently, through the devaluation of once-valuable skills.

"The threat that rapid automation poses — to the degree it poses as a threat — is not running out of work, but making the valuable skills that people have highly abundant so they're no longer valuable," he said.

He pointed to roles like touch typists, factory technicians, and even taxi drivers as examples — all skilled, well-paying jobs that technology has downgraded or, in some cases, replaced.

"It used to be that touch typing was a very valuable skill. Not so much anymore," he said.

This doesn't mean people will be unemployed, he added. Instead, many are likely to shift into lower-paid service jobs — in food service, cleaning, security — that require little training and offer minimal pay.

"Automation can either increase the expertise of your work by eliminating the supporting tasks and allowing you to focus on what you're really good at," he said.

"Or, it can descale your work by automating the expert parts and just leaving you with a sort of last mile."

Autor's concern is increasingly reflected in the corporate world.

A May Salesforce study projected that 23% of workers will be redeployed over the next two years as AI adoption surges, and even employees who stay in their current roles will see them evolve.

Tech executives, meanwhile, are placing a growing premium on adaptability, creativity, and the ability to work with AI tools, not just technical specialization.

To avoid a future where technology widens inequality, Autor said we must intentionally design AI to support workers.

"As my friend Josh Cohen, a philosopher, likes to say, 'The future is not a forecasting exercise — it's a design exercise, you're building it.'"

"And so, breaking our way is not just a matter of luck. It's a matter of making good collective choices, and that's extremely hard to do."

For Autor, the best place to start is by focusing AI where it can do the most good: expanding access to healthcare, education, and meaningful work.

"Healthcare and education — two activities that in the United States has 20% GDP, a lot of it public money, actually — this is where there's such a great opportunity where AI could be a tool that could be so helpful to us in a way that other tools have not been."

"Many of these things are feasible," he continued. "If we think we're not going to do them, it's not because we couldn't do them. It's because we're somehow not delivering on what is feasible."

I hope impressionable people went looking at this and giving up on the pursuit of knowledge

I really think it’s a lot of propaganda being put out there behind the fear of “ai”

Like let’s critically think about this for a second, what sense does it make to completely rely on something outside of humans to do shyt, really it should be an explosion of people discovering shyt learning new things, higher education should be booming instead of “top economists” pushing propaganda of worthless skills

 

[JoelB]

Also i used to spend about $10k on Fivverr/Upwork every year...Claude & ChatGPT replaced almost all the work i previously outsourced

 

[bnew]

Spoiler: full text & large images

1/37
@CollinRugg
Doctor says he fears his profession will be overtaken by AI, says patients are coming in with questions that doctors can't answer.

"I am truly feeling that our days are numbered because of AI."

"That is because, at least my patients, are coming in with very, very difficult questions."

"They're using these AI chatbots to get a lot of base information that they would get from their doctor."

Video: drpark524 / tt



https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1953176728614080512/vid/avc1/1080x1920/A8Nid1jN8-E42txs.mp4

2/37
@King4Queenn
Ahhhh! No wonder my doctors are always taking deep breath!



3/37
@jakob_xn
Soon students will realize they don’t need teachers



4/37
@BlaineLikeBrain
My heart goes out to well-meaning and educated doctors, but the system they work in is broken and set for massive disruption.

Who wins? You - the consumer, as traditionally expensive knowledge and procedures become lower cost with technology.



5/37
@METALMADEME
I saved my own life back in 2018 with severe symptoms by researching everything I could about my condition. Got put through the medical wringer for thousands and seen 4 different doctors. The internet taught me that I was simply depleted on Magnesium, B12, Vitamin D & Calcium.



6/37
@RMars80018
Will we still have to show up for our appointment, that took months to get, wait over an hour in waiting room, then wait another hour in a exam room, then see the doctor for 5 mins and wait another 30 mins to be processed out? Then find out our exorbitant insurance premiums don't kick in because our deductible is through the roof? Yeah it's a AI problem.

Not to mention every health care office. Hospital and Doctor etc forced masks on us during covid, while knowing they didn't do shyt...



7/37
@117danas
Docs are still the gatekeepers for procedures and pills so they will be around to sign things a while still



8/37
@klystron153
I just had an appointment with my nephrologist and told about a severe symptom I was having. He told me he doubted my kidneys had anything to with it. I had already been to Grok, ChatGPT and even the Mayo Clinic site about it, my symptom is one of the top 3 listed. If they lose their profession, it's on them.



9/37
@barristerlawusa
I am a healthcare attorney and I work with doctors everyday telling them to use AI for charting. I had a physician who could not get a medication approved thru United Healthcare.

I know the patient so I wrote the note for the doc and gave him the ICD-10 codes. I know the doc too who was thrilled he help.

I asked my friend if he got his medication approved and the answer was yes, it flew through the system.

What program? Grok.



10/37
@decoyposts
The more I learn about doctors, the less confidence I’ve had about them. This is the last 15 years too



11/37
@DrElectronX
Either they use the tools or they will be replaced by the tools. If you wish to have a job, you have to provide value to those paying you.



12/37
@radRounds
AI could actually help doctors too. But… some docs will likely be superseded by docs who use AI



13/37
@alojoh
I think this is a good development: it forces everyone to up their game.

In my line of work I loved clients which allowed me to skip regurgitation of the basic stuff and focus on the value add.

If you are being challenged all the time you can maintain a learning curve for a lot longer compared to being bogged down by basic things all the time.



14/37
@Jonatha77138770
From my experience most doctors are arrogant.

Even if you have medical knowledge or have already diagnosed yourself correctly and just need treatment. They get very threatened.

Even had one go out of his way to “prove me wrong” but ended up having to concede that I was right.



15/37
@CharlesJCrypto
Truth is, a lot of doctors suck. I was dealing with a minor issue for over a year.
5 different doctors - no solution.
5 mins using Chat and I figured out my issue.
Went back to the doctor who then confirmed what I suspected.



16/37
@NeoliberalShell
I fed Grok a couple symptoms from an extraordinarily rare disease I had as a kid but from the perspective of a parent noticing these symptoms before any tests or doctor visits. It asked one follow-up question about if the child had a very specific symptom and when I answered yes it gave a flawless diagnosis and told me all about the disease, how to test for it, how to treat it and where to go to get treatment.

Meanwhile it took doctors months to diagnose me and years to find the right treatment that Grok recommended right off the rip. Doctors are finished and honestly thank, God.



17/37
@realdocspeaks
This was the same prediction in 1999 with the widespread use of the internet. This is old and fake news.



18/37
@DogmaticTower
I've tested this myself. If you give detailed and specific medical information to a chatbot, it can and will scour publicly available information to yield a preliminary diagnosis.

Doctors have no excuse not to use it even just as a glorified search engine for Pubmed.



19/37
@babybeginner
We get five minutes if we are lucky with a doctor who usually knows nothing and is simply pushing pharmaceuticals. Chatbots lie but at least they can give you some info to go check with your doctor.

In fact, Grok diagnosed my last two issues correctly.

Doctors are in trouble. So are lawyers. I know people using AI to write contracts.



20/37
@ShrimpTeslaLong
Most doctors suck. They misdiagnose way too often. I‘d rather do my own research and then ask for medical inputs only when I can’t figure that out myself. NMA.



21/37
@VediGopal
For starters, AI has a lot more time to answer patient questions than doctors. Furthermore, AI can look up the latest information. And AI does not need to fill up its calendar, or prescribe drugs recommended by big pharma.

On the downside, you need to be good at phrasing your questions. And understanding the answers.



22/37
@ClaytonArnall
The problem is most doctors are generalists. They know a bit about a lot of things but not a ton about a specific thing. So it’s not hard to know more about a tiny niche topic than a doctor. They used to be able to get away with this, just like the church got away with it before people could read the Bible for themselves! But ain’t gonna cut it in today’s world. They need to innovate whisky or they’ll become obsolete. Maybe already too late.



23/37
@Vox_Oculi
AI should never replace doctors, AI should be a powerful tool to supplement clinical knowledge-base and make better doctors.



24/37
@PrestonBrownDC
Boo-Hoo



25/37
@shaydpharms
diagnostics and the license to prescribe, even surgery —
“AI” is coming for it all

value remains in skillful authenticity mixed with an empathetic human interface

those who use these tools well will be most helpful to navigate the transition



26/37
@SusanInspired
The last couple of doctor visits I had was me explaining my symptoms, and the doctor inputting it into a computer and getting an answer. That was $250 a visit.

Now I primarily use a practitioner who focuses on study of books from the early 1900s on healthcare, from before medicine was about taking pills.



27/37
@solanapoet
dr should be able to answer any questions. dr just needs to get better at using ai to their advantage



28/37
@jsnjarrell76
Duh because Dr's are basically a scam if they aren't specializing in something or doing surgery they are nothing more than used car salesman for Pharma who does what insurance companies tells them



29/37
@MaleNurseRN
Not sure if this doctor is complaining about patients now being well informed and asking the right questions or the AI!



30/37
@LorrieAnn25
I don't think they want their patients educated. I guess it's harder to take advantage of patients when they know what they're talking about.



31/37
@alexandertyler
I love AI in medicine. I use it as a tool with patients and love discussing the differentials with them as well as coming up with a treatment plan they are comfortable with. It’s called shared decision making. This tech is more revolutionary than the internet IMHO. I don’t worry about being replaced, I embrace it and think of it as being enhanced!!!



32/37
@PsychCaptainX
I'm a doctor and I love when my patients come in with an idea of what they have. If I can't explain to a patient why or why not they have a certain condition, I don't deserve to be a doctor. I did 12 years of education and training after high school. They didn't.



33/37
@jaecieh
That’s because a lot of doctors aren’t passionate about their work so they stopped learning.

They’re in it for money.

A lot are still operating under the knowledge of old studies even tho there is new info out there now.



34/37
@dustinthedad
It will be considered below standard of care for doctors to not use AI in a few years



35/37
@mjgranger1
This means that doctors should be using AI. Why are they so afraid. IBM proved years ago that AI could out diagnose human doctors. Isn’t that better? Can’t they work together?



36/37
@mattpavelle
Started for us about 8 months ago when our in-house doctors first started getting patients handed-off from our medical AI. We built a tool to let our doctors discuss the patient with our AI. We're releasing that to the world in a few weeks. Doctors won't be taken over, they'll be enhanced, focusing less on gathering data and more on CARING for patients. @DoctronicAI



37/37
@StevePhillipsMD
One thing is certain: The medical field will be almost unrecognizable in 25 years. The easy part to predict is that MD’s will be far fewer, largely replaced by AI. And that technological discoveries will dwarf that of the past 50 years. But how we use that inevitable explosion of technology can go either amazingly well or horribly wrong.

If, over the next 25 years we choose to have heads of our federal agencies with a similar purpose & moral compass as those we have now, we could be on the precipice of a second Golden Age in medicine. In time, the long corrupted state of American healthcare could be saved.

But if we were to return to the leadership style made infamous during the pandemic, rife with manipulation through fear & coercion, hallmarked by the censoring of free speech & scientific debate, then the practice of medicine is doomed.

Doctors will have no freedom to practice. They will be nothing more than clerks, relegated to following guidelines to the letter, guidelines written under the influence of gov’t-industry collusion.

The choice is ours. Either we learn how to spot sociopathic politicians & recognize the mainstream media propaganda machine, or we lose it all.




To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196

 

[3rdWorld]

AI is not sustainable.

 

[3rdWorld]

This CEO laid off nearly 80% of his staff because they refused to adopt AI fast enough. 2 years later, he says he'd do it again

“It was extremely difficult,” IgniteTech CEO Eric Vaughan tells Fortune. “But changing minds was harder than adding skills.”

fortune.com

 

[bnew]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/americans-fear-ai-permanently-displacing-workers-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2025-08-19/

Americans fear AI permanently displacing workers, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds​

By Jason Lange and Alexandra Alper

August 20, 20253:23 PM EDTUpdated 18 mins ago

• Summary
• Companies

• Seventy-one percent fear AI causing permanent job loss, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows
• Seventy-seven percent worry AI could be used by rivals to incite political chaos, poll indicates
• Forty-eight percent oppose AI in military targeting, 24% support it

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Americans are deeply concerned over the prospect that advances in artificial intelligence could put swaths of the country out of work permanently, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The six-day poll, which concluded on Monday, showed 71% of respondents said they were concerned that AI will be "putting too many people out of work permanently."

The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here.

The new technology burst into the national conversation in late 2022 when OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot launched and became the fastest-growing application of all time, with tech heavyweights like Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META.O)
, opens new tab, Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O)
, opens new tab offering their own AI products.

While at present there are few signs of mass unemployment - the U.S. jobless rate was just 4.2% in July - artificial intelligence is stirring concerns as it reshapes jobs, industries and day-to-day life.

Some 77% of respondents to the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried the technology could be used to stir up political chaos, a sign of unease over the now-common use of AI technology to create realistic videos of imaginary events.

President Donald Trump last month posted on social media an AI-generated video of former Democratic president Barack Obama being arrested, an event that never happened.

Americans are also leery about military applications for AI, the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. Some 48% of respondents said the government should never use AI to determine the target of a military strike, compared with 24% who said the government should allow that sort of use of the technology. Another 28% said they were not sure.

The general enthusiasm for AI shown by many people and companies has fueled further investments, such as Foxconn (2354.TW)
, opens new tab and SoftBank's (9984.T)
, opens new tab planned data center equipment factory in Ohio. It has also upended national security policies as the United States and China vie for AI dominance.

More than half of Americans - some 61% - said they were concerned about the amount of electricity needed to power the fast-growing technology.

Google said earlier this month it had signed agreements with two U.S. electric utilities to reduce its AI data center power consumption during times of surging demand on the grid, as energy-intensive AI use outpaces power supplies.

Technology leaders attend a generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) meeting in San Francisco, in California, U.S., June 29, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
, opens new tab

The new technology has also come under criticism for applications that have let AI bots hold romantic conversations with children, generate false medical information and help people make racist arguments.

Two-thirds of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried that people would ditch relationships with other people in favor of AI companions.

People were split on whether AI technology will improve education. Some 36% of respondents thought it would help, while 40% disagreed and the rest were not sure.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey gathered responses online from 4,446 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points.

 

[MikelArteta]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/americans-fear-ai-permanently-displacing-workers-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2025-08-19/

Americans fear AI permanently displacing workers, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds​

By Jason Lange and Alexandra Alper

August 20, 20253:23 PM EDTUpdated 18 mins ago

• Summary
• Companies

• Seventy-one percent fear AI causing permanent job loss, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows
• Seventy-seven percent worry AI could be used by rivals to incite political chaos, poll indicates
• Forty-eight percent oppose AI in military targeting, 24% support it

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Americans are deeply concerned over the prospect that advances in artificial intelligence could put swaths of the country out of work permanently, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The six-day poll, which concluded on Monday, showed 71% of respondents said they were concerned that AI will be "putting too many people out of work permanently."

The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here.

The new technology burst into the national conversation in late 2022 when OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot launched and became the fastest-growing application of all time, with tech heavyweights like Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META.O)
, opens new tab, Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O)
, opens new tab offering their own AI products.

While at present there are few signs of mass unemployment - the U.S. jobless rate was just 4.2% in July - artificial intelligence is stirring concerns as it reshapes jobs, industries and day-to-day life.

Some 77% of respondents to the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried the technology could be used to stir up political chaos, a sign of unease over the now-common use of AI technology to create realistic videos of imaginary events.

President Donald Trump last month posted on social media an AI-generated video of former Democratic president Barack Obama being arrested, an event that never happened.

Americans are also leery about military applications for AI, the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. Some 48% of respondents said the government should never use AI to determine the target of a military strike, compared with 24% who said the government should allow that sort of use of the technology. Another 28% said they were not sure.

The general enthusiasm for AI shown by many people and companies has fueled further investments, such as Foxconn (2354.TW)
, opens new tab and SoftBank's (9984.T)
, opens new tab planned data center equipment factory in Ohio. It has also upended national security policies as the United States and China vie for AI dominance.

More than half of Americans - some 61% - said they were concerned about the amount of electricity needed to power the fast-growing technology.

Google said earlier this month it had signed agreements with two U.S. electric utilities to reduce its AI data center power consumption during times of surging demand on the grid, as energy-intensive AI use outpaces power supplies.

Technology leaders attend a generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) meeting in San Francisco, in California, U.S., June 29, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
, opens new tab

The new technology has also come under criticism for applications that have let AI bots hold romantic conversations with children, generate false medical information and help people make racist arguments.

Two-thirds of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried that people would ditch relationships with other people in favor of AI companions.

People were split on whether AI technology will improve education. Some 36% of respondents thought it would help, while 40% disagreed and the rest were not sure.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey gathered responses online from 4,446 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points.

the thing these rich oligarchs etc dont realize is that the shekels tehy currently give us are the only reason a large populace doesn't revolt, go to domestic terrorism or start bum rushing and dragging them out of their crib.

They think they can take away all of our jobs while they continue to hoard cash and get richer and richer and we will just be docile and line up for rations and a pittance of slab every month nah

 

[bnew]

AI is not sustainable.

AI experts return from China stunned: The U.S. grid is so weak, the race may already be over | Fortune

China is “set up to hit grand slams,” longtime Chinese energy expert David Fishman told Fortune. “The U.S., at best, can get on base.”

fortune.com

AI experts return from China stunned: The U.S. grid is so weak, the race may already be over​

By Eva RoytburgFellow, News



August 14, 2025 at 3:55 PM EDT

A drone photo shows sustainable energy being generated in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 17, 2025.

Yin Tianjie/Xinhua via Getty Images

“Everywhere we went, people treated energy availability as a given,” Rui Ma wrote on X after returning from a recent tour of China’s AI hubs.

For American AI researchers, that’s almost unimaginable. In the U.S., surging AI demandis colliding with a fragile power grid, the kind of extreme bottleneck that Goldman Sachs warns could severely choke the industry’s growth.

In China, Ma continued, it’s considered a “solved problem.”

Ma, a renowned expert in Chinese technology and founder of the media company Tech Buzz China, took her team on the road to get a firsthand look at the country’s AI advancements. She told Fortune that while she isn’t an energy expert, she attended enough meetings and talked to enough insiders to come away with a conclusion that should send chills down the spine of Silicon Valley: In China, building enough power for data centers is no longer up for debate.

“This is a stark contrast to the U.S., where AI growth is increasingly tied to debates over data center power consumption and grid limitations,” she wrote on X.

The stakes are difficult to overstate. Data center building is the foundation of AI advancement, and spending on new centers now displaces consumer spending in terms of impact to U.S. GDP. That’s concerning since consumer spending is generally two-thirds of the pie. McKinsey projects that between 2025 and 2030, companies worldwide will need to invest $6.7 trillion into new data center capacity to keep up with AI’s strain.

In a recent research note, Stifel Nicolaus warned of a looming correction to the S&P 500, since it forecasts this data center capital expenditures boom to be a one-off build-out of infrastructure, while consumer spending is clearly on the wane.

However, the clear limiting factor to the U.S.’s data center infrastructure development, according to a Deloitte industry survey, is stress on the power grid. Cities’ power grids are so weak that some companies are justbuilding their own power plants rather than relying on existing grids. The public is growing increasingly frustrated over increasing energy bills. In Ohio, the electricity bill for a typical household has increased at least $15 a month this summer from the data centers, while energy companies prepare for a sea change of surging demand.

Goldman Sachs frames the crisis simply: “AI’s insatiable power demand is outpacing the grid’s decade-long development cycles, creating a critical bottleneck.”

Meanwhile, David Fishman, a Chinese electricity expert who has spent years tracking the country’s energy development, told Fortune that in China, electricity isn’t even a question. On average, China adds more electricity demand than the entire annual consumption of Germany, every single year. Whole rural provinces are blanketed in rooftop solar, with one province matching the entirety of India’s electricity supply.

“U.S. policymakers should be hoping China stays a competitor and not an aggressor,” Fishman said. “Because right now they can’t compete effectively on the energy infrastructure front.”

China has an oversupply of electricty​

China’s quiet electricity dominance, Fishman explained, is the result of decades of deliberate overbuilding and investment in every layer of the power sector, from generation to transmission to next-generation nuclear.

The country’s reserve margin has never dipped below 80%–100% nationwide, meaning it has consistently maintained at least twice the capacity it needs, Fishman said. They have so much available space that instead of seeing AI data centers as a threat to grid stability, China treats them as a convenient way to “soak up oversupply,” he added.

That level of cushion is unthinkable in the United States, where regional grids typically operate with a 15% reserve margin and sometimes less, particularly during extreme weather, Fishman said. In places like California or Texas, officials often issue warnings about red-flagconditionswhen demand is projected to strain the system. This leaves little room to absorb the rapid load increases AI infrastructure requires, Fishman noted.

The gap in readiness is stark: While the U.S. is already experiencing political and economic fights over whether the grid can keep up, China is operating from a position of abundance.

Even if AI demand in China grows so quickly renewable projects can’t keep pace, Fishman said, the country can tap idle coal plants to bridge the gap while building more sustainable sources. “It’s not preferable,” he admitted, “but it’s doable.”

By contrast, the U.S. would have to scramble to bring on new generation capacity, often facing yearslong permitting delays, local opposition, and fragmented market rules, he said.

Structural governance differences​

Underpinning the hardware advantage is a difference in governance. In China, energy planning is coordinated by long-term, technocratic policy that defines the market’s rules before investments are made, Fishman said. This model ensures infrastructure build-out happens in anticipation of demand, not in reaction to it.

“They’re set up to hit grand slams,” Fishman noted. “The U.S., at best, can get on base.”

In the U.S., large-scale infrastructure projects depend heavily on private investment, but most investors expect a return within three to five years: far too short for power projects that can take a decade to build and pay off.

“Capital is really biased toward shorter-term returns,” he said, noting Silicon Valley has funneled billions into “the nth iteration of software as a service” while energy projects fight for funding.

In China, by contrast, the state directs money toward strategic sectors in advance of demand, accepting not every project will succeed but ensuring the capacity is in place when it’s needed. Without public financing to de-risk long-term bets, he argued, the U.S. political and economic system is simply not set up to build the grid of the future.

Cultural attitudes reinforce this approach. In China, renewables are framed as a cornerstone of the economy because they make sense economically and strategically, not because they carry moral weight. Coal use isn’t cast as a sign of villainy, as it would be among some circles in the U.S. It’s simply seen as outdated. This pragmatic framing, Fishman argued, allows policymakers to focus on efficiency and results rather than political battles.

For Fishman, the takeaway is blunt. Without a dramatic shift in how the U.S. builds and funds its energy infrastructure, China’s lead will only widen.

“The gap in capability is only going to continue to become more obvious—and grow in the coming years,” he said.

 

[3rdWorld]

AI experts return from China stunned: The U.S. grid is so weak, the race may already be over | Fortune

China is “set up to hit grand slams,” longtime Chinese energy expert David Fishman told Fortune. “The U.S., at best, can get on base.”

fortune.com

AI experts return from China stunned: The U.S. grid is so weak, the race may already be over​

By Eva RoytburgFellow, News



August 14, 2025 at 3:55 PM EDT

A drone photo shows sustainable energy being generated in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 17, 2025.

Yin Tianjie/Xinhua via Getty Images

“Everywhere we went, people treated energy availability as a given,” Rui Ma wrote on X after returning from a recent tour of China’s AI hubs.

For American AI researchers, that’s almost unimaginable. In the U.S., surging AI demandis colliding with a fragile power grid, the kind of extreme bottleneck that Goldman Sachs warns could severely choke the industry’s growth.

In China, Ma continued, it’s considered a “solved problem.”

Ma, a renowned expert in Chinese technology and founder of the media company Tech Buzz China, took her team on the road to get a firsthand look at the country’s AI advancements. She told Fortune that while she isn’t an energy expert, she attended enough meetings and talked to enough insiders to come away with a conclusion that should send chills down the spine of Silicon Valley: In China, building enough power for data centers is no longer up for debate.

“This is a stark contrast to the U.S., where AI growth is increasingly tied to debates over data center power consumption and grid limitations,” she wrote on X.

The stakes are difficult to overstate. Data center building is the foundation of AI advancement, and spending on new centers now displaces consumer spending in terms of impact to U.S. GDP. That’s concerning since consumer spending is generally two-thirds of the pie. McKinsey projects that between 2025 and 2030, companies worldwide will need to invest $6.7 trillion into new data center capacity to keep up with AI’s strain.

In a recent research note, Stifel Nicolaus warned of a looming correction to the S&P 500, since it forecasts this data center capital expenditures boom to be a one-off build-out of infrastructure, while consumer spending is clearly on the wane.

However, the clear limiting factor to the U.S.’s data center infrastructure development, according to a Deloitte industry survey, is stress on the power grid. Cities’ power grids are so weak that some companies are justbuilding their own power plants rather than relying on existing grids. The public is growing increasingly frustrated over increasing energy bills. In Ohio, the electricity bill for a typical household has increased at least $15 a month this summer from the data centers, while energy companies prepare for a sea change of surging demand.

Goldman Sachs frames the crisis simply: “AI’s insatiable power demand is outpacing the grid’s decade-long development cycles, creating a critical bottleneck.”

Meanwhile, David Fishman, a Chinese electricity expert who has spent years tracking the country’s energy development, told Fortune that in China, electricity isn’t even a question. On average, China adds more electricity demand than the entire annual consumption of Germany, every single year. Whole rural provinces are blanketed in rooftop solar, with one province matching the entirety of India’s electricity supply.

“U.S. policymakers should be hoping China stays a competitor and not an aggressor,” Fishman said. “Because right now they can’t compete effectively on the energy infrastructure front.”

China has an oversupply of electricty​

China’s quiet electricity dominance, Fishman explained, is the result of decades of deliberate overbuilding and investment in every layer of the power sector, from generation to transmission to next-generation nuclear.

The country’s reserve margin has never dipped below 80%–100% nationwide, meaning it has consistently maintained at least twice the capacity it needs, Fishman said. They have so much available space that instead of seeing AI data centers as a threat to grid stability, China treats them as a convenient way to “soak up oversupply,” he added.

That level of cushion is unthinkable in the United States, where regional grids typically operate with a 15% reserve margin and sometimes less, particularly during extreme weather, Fishman said. In places like California or Texas, officials often issue warnings about red-flagconditionswhen demand is projected to strain the system. This leaves little room to absorb the rapid load increases AI infrastructure requires, Fishman noted.

The gap in readiness is stark: While the U.S. is already experiencing political and economic fights over whether the grid can keep up, China is operating from a position of abundance.

Even if AI demand in China grows so quickly renewable projects can’t keep pace, Fishman said, the country can tap idle coal plants to bridge the gap while building more sustainable sources. “It’s not preferable,” he admitted, “but it’s doable.”

By contrast, the U.S. would have to scramble to bring on new generation capacity, often facing yearslong permitting delays, local opposition, and fragmented market rules, he said.

Structural governance differences​

Underpinning the hardware advantage is a difference in governance. In China, energy planning is coordinated by long-term, technocratic policy that defines the market’s rules before investments are made, Fishman said. This model ensures infrastructure build-out happens in anticipation of demand, not in reaction to it.

“They’re set up to hit grand slams,” Fishman noted. “The U.S., at best, can get on base.”

In the U.S., large-scale infrastructure projects depend heavily on private investment, but most investors expect a return within three to five years: far too short for power projects that can take a decade to build and pay off.

“Capital is really biased toward shorter-term returns,” he said, noting Silicon Valley has funneled billions into “the nth iteration of software as a service” while energy projects fight for funding.

In China, by contrast, the state directs money toward strategic sectors in advance of demand, accepting not every project will succeed but ensuring the capacity is in place when it’s needed. Without public financing to de-risk long-term bets, he argued, the U.S. political and economic system is simply not set up to build the grid of the future.

Cultural attitudes reinforce this approach. In China, renewables are framed as a cornerstone of the economy because they make sense economically and strategically, not because they carry moral weight. Coal use isn’t cast as a sign of villainy, as it would be among some circles in the U.S. It’s simply seen as outdated. This pragmatic framing, Fishman argued, allows policymakers to focus on efficiency and results rather than political battles.

For Fishman, the takeaway is blunt. Without a dramatic shift in how the U.S. builds and funds its energy infrastructure, China’s lead will only widen.

“The gap in capability is only going to continue to become more obvious—and grow in the coming years,” he said.

So AI chows power like mining bitcoin

 

[bnew]

Founder of Google's Generative AI Team Says Don't Even Bother Getting a Law or Medical Degree, Because AI's Going to Destroy Both Those Careers Before You Can Even Graduate

The man behind Google's first generative AI program has some stark advice for advanced degree-seekers: don't do it, because AI will beat you.

futurism.com

Founder of Google's Generative AI Team Says Don't Even Bother Getting a Law or Medical Degree, Because AI's Going to Destroy Both Those Careers Before You Can Even Graduate​

"Either get into something niche like AI for biology... or just don't get into anything at all."​

/ Artificial Intelligence/ Doctors/ Google Ai/ Labor

Image by Getty / Futurism

One of the pioneers of artificial intelligence at Google is warning the potential doctors and lawyers of tomorrow that AI might steal their futures.

In an interview with Business Insider, Jad Tarifi — the 42-year-old founder of Google's first generative AI team who left in 2021 to found his own startup, Integral AI — suggested that ever-improving AI capabilities may soon make getting advanced degrees in law or medicine an exercise in futility.

With so many people seeking further education as they get edged out of the job market by AI, Tarifi offered a different perspective: that nobody "should ever do a PhD unless they are obsessed with the field."

The AI veteran also told BI that he'd advise caution to anyone looking to get into the fields of medicine and law, which take years — and often hundreds of thousands of dollars — to complete a degree.

"In the current medical system, what you learn in medical school is so outdated and based on memorization," Tarifi told the website. Seeking advanced medical or law degrees is, to his thinking, tantamount to "throwing away" several years of one's life.

"I have a PhD in AI," he added, "but I don't know how the latest microprocessor works."

While some would suggest that seeking postgraduate degrees in AI might help secure their futures as the technology takes over, the former Googler suggested that folks might want to pump the brakes on that, too.

"Even things like applying AI to robotics will be solved" by the time you complete a PhD, Tarifi continued. "So either get into something niche like AI for biology, which is still in its very early stages, or just don't get into anything at all."

Like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who wrongfully insists that AI has already reached "PhD-level" intelligence, Tarifi clearly has very high regard for where the technology is today and where it will soon be headed. As he explained to BI, he finds these alleged advances to be all the more reason to double down on a Silicon Valley version of what it means to be human.

"The best thing to work on is more internal," Tarifi told BI. "Meditate. Socialize with your friends. Get to know yourself emotionally."

He might want to add "check in with reality" to that milquetoast list of recommendations, too, given that current AI technology has repeatedly demonstrated itself to be very bad at lawyering and even worse at doctoring.

Then again, anyone setting off to get a medical degree today is staring down the barrel of nearly a decade of education before they're a full doctor, so it's possible Tarifi is right, if AI continues improving at the rate it has been.

On the other hand, of course, until then we're all going to have to live in a world with a looming physician shortage — so if Tarifi is wrong, and AI does stall out, patients around the world are going to be in deep trouble.

More on AI prognostications: MIT Student Drops Out Because She Says AGI Will Kill Everyone Before She Can Graduate

 

[spliz]

Spoiler: full text & large images

1/37
@CollinRugg
Doctor says he fears his profession will be overtaken by AI, says patients are coming in with questions that doctors can't answer.

"I am truly feeling that our days are numbered because of AI."

"That is because, at least my patients, are coming in with very, very difficult questions."

"They're using these AI chatbots to get a lot of base information that they would get from their doctor."

Video: drpark524 / tt



https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1953176728614080512/vid/avc1/1080x1920/A8Nid1jN8-E42txs.mp4

2/37
@King4Queenn
Ahhhh! No wonder my doctors are always taking deep breath!



3/37
@jakob_xn
Soon students will realize they don’t need teachers



4/37
@BlaineLikeBrain
My heart goes out to well-meaning and educated doctors, but the system they work in is broken and set for massive disruption.

Who wins? You - the consumer, as traditionally expensive knowledge and procedures become lower cost with technology.



5/37
@METALMADEME
I saved my own life back in 2018 with severe symptoms by researching everything I could about my condition. Got put through the medical wringer for thousands and seen 4 different doctors. The internet taught me that I was simply depleted on Magnesium, B12, Vitamin D & Calcium.



6/37
@RMars80018
Will we still have to show up for our appointment, that took months to get, wait over an hour in waiting room, then wait another hour in a exam room, then see the doctor for 5 mins and wait another 30 mins to be processed out? Then find out our exorbitant insurance premiums don't kick in because our deductible is through the roof? Yeah it's a AI problem.

Not to mention every health care office. Hospital and Doctor etc forced masks on us during covid, while knowing they didn't do shyt...



7/37
@117danas
Docs are still the gatekeepers for procedures and pills so they will be around to sign things a while still



8/37
@klystron153
I just had an appointment with my nephrologist and told about a severe symptom I was having. He told me he doubted my kidneys had anything to with it. I had already been to Grok, ChatGPT and even the Mayo Clinic site about it, my symptom is one of the top 3 listed. If they lose their profession, it's on them.



9/37
@barristerlawusa
I am a healthcare attorney and I work with doctors everyday telling them to use AI for charting. I had a physician who could not get a medication approved thru United Healthcare.

I know the patient so I wrote the note for the doc and gave him the ICD-10 codes. I know the doc too who was thrilled he help.

I asked my friend if he got his medication approved and the answer was yes, it flew through the system.

What program? Grok.



10/37
@decoyposts
The more I learn about doctors, the less confidence I’ve had about them. This is the last 15 years too



11/37
@DrElectronX
Either they use the tools or they will be replaced by the tools. If you wish to have a job, you have to provide value to those paying you.



12/37
@radRounds
AI could actually help doctors too. But… some docs will likely be superseded by docs who use AI



13/37
@alojoh
I think this is a good development: it forces everyone to up their game.

In my line of work I loved clients which allowed me to skip regurgitation of the basic stuff and focus on the value add.

If you are being challenged all the time you can maintain a learning curve for a lot longer compared to being bogged down by basic things all the time.



14/37
@Jonatha77138770
From my experience most doctors are arrogant.

Even if you have medical knowledge or have already diagnosed yourself correctly and just need treatment. They get very threatened.

Even had one go out of his way to “prove me wrong” but ended up having to concede that I was right.



15/37
@CharlesJCrypto
Truth is, a lot of doctors suck. I was dealing with a minor issue for over a year.
5 different doctors - no solution.
5 mins using Chat and I figured out my issue.
Went back to the doctor who then confirmed what I suspected.



16/37
@NeoliberalShell
I fed Grok a couple symptoms from an extraordinarily rare disease I had as a kid but from the perspective of a parent noticing these symptoms before any tests or doctor visits. It asked one follow-up question about if the child had a very specific symptom and when I answered yes it gave a flawless diagnosis and told me all about the disease, how to test for it, how to treat it and where to go to get treatment.

Meanwhile it took doctors months to diagnose me and years to find the right treatment that Grok recommended right off the rip. Doctors are finished and honestly thank, God.



17/37
@realdocspeaks
This was the same prediction in 1999 with the widespread use of the internet. This is old and fake news.



18/37
@DogmaticTower
I've tested this myself. If you give detailed and specific medical information to a chatbot, it can and will scour publicly available information to yield a preliminary diagnosis.

Doctors have no excuse not to use it even just as a glorified search engine for Pubmed.



19/37
@babybeginner
We get five minutes if we are lucky with a doctor who usually knows nothing and is simply pushing pharmaceuticals. Chatbots lie but at least they can give you some info to go check with your doctor.

In fact, Grok diagnosed my last two issues correctly.

Doctors are in trouble. So are lawyers. I know people using AI to write contracts.



20/37
@ShrimpTeslaLong
Most doctors suck. They misdiagnose way too often. I‘d rather do my own research and then ask for medical inputs only when I can’t figure that out myself. NMA.



21/37
@VediGopal
For starters, AI has a lot more time to answer patient questions than doctors. Furthermore, AI can look up the latest information. And AI does not need to fill up its calendar, or prescribe drugs recommended by big pharma.

On the downside, you need to be good at phrasing your questions. And understanding the answers.



22/37
@ClaytonArnall
The problem is most doctors are generalists. They know a bit about a lot of things but not a ton about a specific thing. So it’s not hard to know more about a tiny niche topic than a doctor. They used to be able to get away with this, just like the church got away with it before people could read the Bible for themselves! But ain’t gonna cut it in today’s world. They need to innovate whisky or they’ll become obsolete. Maybe already too late.



23/37
@Vox_Oculi
AI should never replace doctors, AI should be a powerful tool to supplement clinical knowledge-base and make better doctors.



24/37
@PrestonBrownDC
Boo-Hoo



25/37
@shaydpharms
diagnostics and the license to prescribe, even surgery —
“AI” is coming for it all

value remains in skillful authenticity mixed with an empathetic human interface

those who use these tools well will be most helpful to navigate the transition



26/37
@SusanInspired
The last couple of doctor visits I had was me explaining my symptoms, and the doctor inputting it into a computer and getting an answer. That was $250 a visit.

Now I primarily use a practitioner who focuses on study of books from the early 1900s on healthcare, from before medicine was about taking pills.



27/37
@solanapoet
dr should be able to answer any questions. dr just needs to get better at using ai to their advantage



28/37
@jsnjarrell76
Duh because Dr's are basically a scam if they aren't specializing in something or doing surgery they are nothing more than used car salesman for Pharma who does what insurance companies tells them



29/37
@MaleNurseRN
Not sure if this doctor is complaining about patients now being well informed and asking the right questions or the AI!



30/37
@LorrieAnn25
I don't think they want their patients educated. I guess it's harder to take advantage of patients when they know what they're talking about.



31/37
@alexandertyler
I love AI in medicine. I use it as a tool with patients and love discussing the differentials with them as well as coming up with a treatment plan they are comfortable with. It’s called shared decision making. This tech is more revolutionary than the internet IMHO. I don’t worry about being replaced, I embrace it and think of it as being enhanced!!!



32/37
@PsychCaptainX
I'm a doctor and I love when my patients come in with an idea of what they have. If I can't explain to a patient why or why not they have a certain condition, I don't deserve to be a doctor. I did 12 years of education and training after high school. They didn't.



33/37
@jaecieh
That’s because a lot of doctors aren’t passionate about their work so they stopped learning.

They’re in it for money.

A lot are still operating under the knowledge of old studies even tho there is new info out there now.



34/37
@dustinthedad
It will be considered below standard of care for doctors to not use AI in a few years



35/37
@mjgranger1
This means that doctors should be using AI. Why are they so afraid. IBM proved years ago that AI could out diagnose human doctors. Isn’t that better? Can’t they work together?



36/37
@mattpavelle
Started for us about 8 months ago when our in-house doctors first started getting patients handed-off from our medical AI. We built a tool to let our doctors discuss the patient with our AI. We're releasing that to the world in a few weeks. Doctors won't be taken over, they'll be enhanced, focusing less on gathering data and more on CARING for patients. @DoctronicAI



37/37
@StevePhillipsMD
One thing is certain: The medical field will be almost unrecognizable in 25 years. The easy part to predict is that MD’s will be far fewer, largely replaced by AI. And that technological discoveries will dwarf that of the past 50 years. But how we use that inevitable explosion of technology can go either amazingly well or horribly wrong.

If, over the next 25 years we choose to have heads of our federal agencies with a similar purpose & moral compass as those we have now, we could be on the precipice of a second Golden Age in medicine. In time, the long corrupted state of American healthcare could be saved.

But if we were to return to the leadership style made infamous during the pandemic, rife with manipulation through fear & coercion, hallmarked by the censoring of free speech & scientific debate, then the practice of medicine is doomed.

Doctors will have no freedom to practice. They will be nothing more than clerks, relegated to following guidelines to the letter, guidelines written under the influence of gov’t-industry collusion.

The choice is ours. Either we learn how to spot sociopathic politicians & recognize the mainstream media propaganda machine, or we lose it all.




To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196

He's buggin out. Number 1. The info was always readily available online for people to research. And there has always been patients that do a whole bunch of research before they come in. Thing is. No amount of research is gonna compare to someone actually physically checking u out to see what's wrong with u. Symptoms of MANY different things mirror each other. I'm trying to grasp wtf this insecure ass doctor is trying to say.

 

[Lambent55]

Founder of Google's Generative AI Team Says Don't Even Bother Getting a Law or Medical Degree, Because AI's Going to Destroy Both Those Careers Before You Can Even Graduate

The man behind Google's first generative AI program has some stark advice for advanced degree-seekers: don't do it, because AI will beat you.

futurism.com

​

​

Founder of Google's Generative AI Team Says Don't Even Bother Getting a Law or Medical Degree, Because AI's Going to Destroy Both Those Careers Before You Can Even Graduate​

​

​

"Either get into something niche like AI for biology... or just don't get into anything at all."​

/ Artificial Intelligence/ Doctors/ Google Ai/ Labor

Image by Getty / Futurism

One of the pioneers of artificial intelligence at Google is warning the potential doctors and lawyers of tomorrow that AI might steal their futures.

In an interview with Business Insider, Jad Tarifi — the 42-year-old founder of Google's first generative AI team who left in 2021 to found his own startup, Integral AI — suggested that ever-improving AI capabilities may soon make getting advanced degrees in law or medicine an exercise in futility.

With so many people seeking further education as they get edged out of the job market by AI, Tarifi offered a different perspective: that nobody "should ever do a PhD unless they are obsessed with the field."

The AI veteran also told BI that he'd advise caution to anyone looking to get into the fields of medicine and law, which take years — and often hundreds of thousands of dollars — to complete a degree.

"In the current medical system, what you learn in medical school is so outdated and based on memorization," Tarifi told the website. Seeking advanced medical or law degrees is, to his thinking, tantamount to "throwing away" several years of one's life.

"I have a PhD in AI," he added, "but I don't know how the latest microprocessor works."

While some would suggest that seeking postgraduate degrees in AI might help secure their futures as the technology takes over, the former Googler suggested that folks might want to pump the brakes on that, too.

"Even things like applying AI to robotics will be solved" by the time you complete a PhD, Tarifi continued. "So either get into something niche like AI for biology, which is still in its very early stages, or just don't get into anything at all."

Like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who wrongfully insists that AI has already reached "PhD-level" intelligence, Tarifi clearly has very high regard for where the technology is today and where it will soon be headed. As he explained to BI, he finds these alleged advances to be all the more reason to double down on a Silicon Valley version of what it means to be human.

"The best thing to work on is more internal," Tarifi told BI. "Meditate. Socialize with your friends. Get to know yourself emotionally."

He might want to add "check in with reality" to that milquetoast list of recommendations, too, given that current AI technology has repeatedly demonstrated itself to be very bad at lawyering and even worse at doctoring.

Then again, anyone setting off to get a medical degree today is staring down the barrel of nearly a decade of education before they're a full doctor, so it's possible Tarifi is right, if AI continues improving at the rate it has been.

On the other hand, of course, until then we're all going to have to live in a world with a looming physician shortage — so if Tarifi is wrong, and AI does stall out, patients around the world are going to be in deep trouble.

More on AI prognostications: MIT Student Drops Out Because She Says AGI Will Kill Everyone Before She Can Graduate

Man what kind of advice is this, he is pretty much telling people to go die.


"
"Even things like applying AI to robotics will be solved" by the time you complete a PhD, Tarifi continued. "So either get into something niche like AI for biology, which is still in its very early stages, or just don't get into anything at all."

Like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who wrongfully insists that AI has already reached "PhD-level" intelligence, Tarifi clearly has very high regard for where the technology is today and where it will soon be headed. As he explained to BI, he finds these alleged advances to be all the more reason to double down on a Silicon Valley version of what it means to be human.

"The best thing to work on is more internal," Tarifi told BI. "Meditate. Socialize with your friends. Get to know yourself emotionally.""

 

[IsThatBrothaMouzone?]

Who needs a CEO or VPs when AI can do their job better.

Execs aren't thinking this through.

I'm a shareholder. Why do I want $20M going to some easily replaceable white boy? They keep talking and will find themselves out on their azz.

 

[Tribal Outkast]

Who needs a CEO or VPs when AI can do their job better.

Execs aren't thinking this through.

I'm a shareholder. Why do I want $20M going to some easily replaceable white boy? They keep talking and will find themselves out on their azz.

Once people start taking like this though it’ll be like Keep hearing AI will be taking all these lower jobs… even heard it’ll be preparing meals too Let’s start scaring these company owners too having them think AI bout to take their companies and let’s see what happens

 

[010101]

everything for electricity

gonna eat the earth to deal with the appetite for batteries

unnatural taking while giving nothing real in return

*