In our latest Breakneck Podcast episode, my co-host Matt and I had a profound conversation about AI's impact on humanity that I wanted to share with you all. As two founders navigating AI-centered startups, we often find ourselves at the intersection of innovation and existential questioning.

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The Emotional Landscape of Technological Disruption

There's something uniquely unsettling about our current technological moment. My co-host brilliantly described the mixture of terror, awe, and wonder we should embrace when confronting AI advancements. These words perfectly capture how I feel too. As an entrepreneur, I'm hardwired to be curious and forward-looking—always trying to peek over the horizon. But this is perhaps the first time I've experienced such a potent dose of terror mixed with that curiosity.

This emotional cocktail serves a crucial purpose. When we're tired or confronted with massive change, our brains activate alert systems. The terror we feel about AI isn't something to suppress—it's waking us up to profound transformation. It compels us to listen, look, and adapt.

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AI Will Make Us More Human, Not Less

Despite the understandable anxiety, I predict that in the long run, AI will make us more human. The aspects of work that are least human—the repetitive tasks, the endless email management, the mechanical processes that consume our days—these are precisely what will be automated.

What we're witnessing isn't the end of human value but a redistribution of it. Soon, we'll generate different kinds of value, ones that are more aligned with our fundamental humanity rather than industrial-age productivity metrics.

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The Historical Context of Tools and Humanity

My children have no experience of the world before the internet or smartphones. They assume this is simply "the way the world is."

But if you traveled back just 30 years and told someone about large language models, they might respond: "So what if it can process all the words on the internet? I don't even know what the internet is, and I'm living just fine without it."

Our tools—from written language to television to industrial machines—have become so embedded in our daily existence that we mistake them for essential components of being human. This is not the case. Humanity predates all these technologies, and it will outlast many of them too.

Perhaps we're headed toward a reversal, where these tools become less relevant, more abstracted, leaving us with the more fundamentally human aspects of existence. That's simultaneously exciting and terrifying—what happens when we remove the technological extensions we've come to rely on?

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The Shifting Landscape of Value

Previously, we talked about "return on intelligence" as the dominant paradigm. Now, we're seeing a shift toward "return on attention"—something that has become a global phenomenon.

The question becomes: what's next? What will be the next most valuable human characteristic?

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Industrial Revolution 2.0: Moving Beyond the Desk

For roughly 200 years since the Industrial Revolution began in the 1820s-1850s, we've been organizing ourselves into increasingly unnatural patterns. First, we crammed ourselves into production lines and uniform city blocks. The modern equivalent is locking ourselves to desks for predetermined hours—something profoundly unaligned with human nature.

I believe much of this unnatural structure will disappear. We aren't designed for constant repetition or isolation. The AI revolution could free us from these constraints, allowing us to work in ways that better honor our humanity.

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A Reason for Optimism

Despite the legitimate concerns, I remain optimistic. This transformation isn't happening as rapidly as media headlines suggest. We likely have 3-5 years—plenty of time for the necessary cultural shifts to occur.

However, this doesn't mean complacency is an option. You will absolutely get left behind if you don't start engaging with these technologies and understanding their implications. As the CEO of Fiverr recently noted, AI is coming for all our jobs—not just your current position, but potentially any role you might want to fill in the future.

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Why I'm Building in This Space

I've wrestled with whether this is where I want to invest my time and energy, knowing these technologies will displace jobs. After careful consideration, I've concluded that the overall impact will be positive—there will be tremendous benefits alongside the disruptions.

Moreover, this transformation is inevitable whether I participate or not. I'd prefer that people who thoughtfully consider the broader implications help guide these technologies, rather than leaving the steering to those who might be less concerned with the human impact.

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Conclusion

We stand at a fascinating juncture in human history. The tools that have defined us for generations are being reimagined, creating both terror and wonder. By embracing this transformation rather than resisting it, we have the opportunity to become more authentically human than our industrial-age structures have allowed.

The automation of the less human aspects of our work might just be the liberation we never knew we needed—a return to the creative, connected, and purposeful existence that industrial efficiency often sacrificed. In this sense, AI won't make us obsolete; it will make us more human than we've been in centuries.

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Ian Sweeney is an AI entrepreneur, CEO of bepo.ai and the co-host of the Breakneck Podcast, where he explores the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence with fellow founder and CEO of Pact, Matt Pasienski.

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