Everybody’s talking about AI displacement and how it’s reshaping our industry. As more companies keep citing AI in layoff announcements, the worry is justified. Creatives everywhere are feeling it — in boardrooms, at client dinners, at the end of every call about some lazy RFP.

Here’s my theory. Stay with me.

AI is oversold. We’re being sold capabilities and effectiveness that haven’t actually been proven out yet. And the reason is obvious: the people doing the convincing are the tech world’s version of used car salesmen. It’s in their interest to inflate the promise, because that’s how a very small number of people get very rich.

They want us to believe everyone wants everything faster, cheaper, easier. They want us to believe we can fire people and swap in the right tool. But that story isn’t reality or the one we need. Yes, people are using AI. A lot. No argument there. We use it to sharpen emails. I used it last year to help plan a family vacation itinerary, and honestly? Super helpful. BBL Drizzy was fun — I’ll grant you that.

But for everything we use it for casually, how many jobs can it actually do fully? Reliably enough to let a company terminate real staff? For every company claiming this transition is working, go talk to the people left behind. Ask them if the job is easier without their colleagues. Ask if the efficiencies are real.

What you’ll usually find — and yes, there’s research backing this up — is that AI is not boosting productivity nearly as much as it’s being sold in these cases. People are spending more time fixing the errors it creates. They’re working harder than ever, doing their job and checking the tool that was supposed to replace headcount.
I get it. Your department head laid off 15 people and sank $500K into an enterprise license for a mid AI tool. Nobody wants to admit that bet was wrong- or at the very least, overzealous.

But the workers left standing are the ones paying for it.

Here’s the bigger thing: the kids don’t want it.

They’ll use AI as a shortcut on homework — the same way our generation used Cliff’s Notes. But when it comes to creativity and art, they want the real thing. My kids won’t watch AI vids. They pride themselves on being able to spot it and call “AI slop.” They do not want products that try to convince them they don’t need people. They do not want AI music pretending to have soul. They do not want AI “community” pretending to be connection. Pre-Teens and Teenagers are pushing back. Hard.

So why is AI all over your feed? Simple: you are your age. People over 35 love AI. We’re moved by how far the technology has come. We grew up on Terminator movies and were told this moment was inevitable, so it’s easy to mistake inevitability for wisdom. The irony is palpable.

CEOs think they’re making a smart bet because they’re not talking to teenagers. But the generation behind us doesn’t want AI friends. They want what we took for granted. They want real.

Just because it’s everywhere doesn’t mean it’s everything. Talk to anyone under 20. Look at their social media. They are going analog. They want 90s MTV, indie artists, flip phones, CDs, in-person hangs, real connection. They want to learn creativity again. They do not want whatever this is.

And yes — to be clear — AI will displace some workers. Some jobs will be lost. But the current evidence says AI is useful, yet uneven. It tends to help with drafting, coding, customer support, and other bounded tasks, especially for less-experienced workers, but it often falls short when the work is complicated, context-heavy, or requires judgment.
Human ingenuity and connection? That’s not going anywhere.

There’s something hopeful happening in youth culture right now. They may be the ones who drag us back toward what’s worth preserving. Art is still for the artists. That’s the bet we believe in.

What are you seeing in your world?