During dinner tonight, I asked my 14-year-old son and almost 13-year-old daughter if they had any updated thoughts on what they wanted to do when they grew up. Whenever we have dinner together, I try to blend fun with real questions. This is not new to them, and they are mostly uninterested in my efforts by now. They'll appreciate it all later, I hope. However, tonight was different as my son hit me with a question that I wasn't quite ready to answer.

My son has always had a healthy balance of interests in family, sports, friends, and technology. He has shown an affinity for video games, and we've done a good job of allowing him to explore that interest while providing a healthy environment where it doesn't overwhelm him. This has led to an interest in coding and game design. Over time, whenever I've asked him what he wants to do when he grows up, he's answered with something along the lines of game design, coding, figuring out problems, tinkering, etc. When I asked him again tonight, his answer was the same but with an asterisk.

I still want to do coding, but with AI, I'm not sure there will be enough jobs.

My initial internal response was "Oh man, don't worry, there will always be a need for people to..." but then I internally tripped. I just built an entire React App that interacted with a database in 10 days, which would have taken me a year 10 years ago. This was only possible because I was consulting with Chat-GPT4 during the whole process, from start to finish. I hadn't thought about it, but maybe he was right. Maybe the acceleration of AI technology just rendered a lot of kids' dreams of coding a lot more implausible.

It took me a minute to figure out how to respond. I jabbed here and there about how there will always be a need for people to compose vs. create. The world values those who can compile complex information systems and relate them to the real needs of people. The world will always need those who can provide a way forward. While reassuring and true, it doesn't solve his very real concern. Should he invest the next years of his life preparing for a career that might not be as lucrative as it once was?

Life moves fast, and AI moves faster. Here's to trying to keep up