In mid-2023, I wrote about defending a contract writing enterprise in a world that has change into dominated by AI. On the time, ChatGPT had been launched solely 8 months prior. My ideas have been sensible: pivot your worth proposition and present purchasers which you could deliver one thing to the desk that robots can’t.
Since then, generative AI has skilled large shifts. Evaluation of on-line job postings discovered a 30.4% lower in writing jobs and 20.6% lower in software program growth jobs between July 2021 and July 2023. In my business, freelancers have been hit significantly exhausting, with many unable to search out work. Whereas generative AI is just not the solely cause (the financial system is horrible, and budgets are proper), it’s definitely an element. Firms know that AI is cheaper and are keen to experiment.
So, the place does that go away freelancers at present? Again in early 20202, some companies have been completely upended by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many needed to shift, shortly and completely. People who didn’t might have closed completely.
AI is the same seismic shift, by which you need to plan and assume exhausting in regards to the potential impacts. Whereas many freelancers I do know have been struggling, my writing enterprise has been doing tremendous: I’ve had no lower in income. There are just a few key issues…