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I’ll Probably Lose My Job to AI. Here’s Why That’s OK | Megan J. McArdle | TED

Artificial intelligence could cost many of us our careers — but that doesn’t mean we should stop its development, says journalist Megan J. McArdle. As she watches AI encroach on her own craft, she shares a fresh take on the 19th-century Luddites, who tried to destroy machines that would upend their trade. Looking back, McArdle…

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Artificial intelligence could cost many of us our careers — but that doesn’t mean we should stop its development, says journalist Megan J. McArdle. As she watches AI encroach on her own craft, she shares a fresh take on the 19th-century Luddites, who tried to destroy machines that would upend their trade. Looking back, McArdle reframes today’s fears with a poignant question: If we halt progress to protect the present, what might we be stealing from the future? (Recorded at TED2025 on April 9, 2025)

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60 Comments

60 Comments

  1. @oneworld1160

    July 15, 2025 at 12:48 pm

    If AI wanted to take over, would it not start with the least educated people presided over by a brainless drone?

  2. @Urelasir

    July 15, 2025 at 1:06 pm

    Cant take this person seriously.

  3. @edwardfitzgerald3877

    July 15, 2025 at 1:17 pm

    The atomic bomb was progress too. Doesn’t make it good.

  4. @Supreme-gu1jz

    July 15, 2025 at 1:21 pm

    Naw this ted talk is piece of trash. The only reason she and anyone else isn’t worried about losing their job to AI or automation is because they have a wealthy spouse or family to fall back on. To me the message she is trying to convey is, ” Calm down you simpleton everything is going to be fine. For me sure, you not so much, but calm down okay.” Nich Hanuer has another Ted talk about income inequality which is more relevant today. Give that tall a listen. Wake up people this can’t last forever.

  5. @AndagriousLongnayme

    July 15, 2025 at 1:21 pm

    Yeah, no.

  6. @Subhajitjana537

    July 15, 2025 at 1:27 pm

    People will be left with only menial jobs to do for living after being displaced by AI. Are you referring to not robbing our descendants off that future?

  7. @Brian.S

    July 15, 2025 at 1:39 pm

    It comes down to the existence of AI vs the proposed use cases of AI.
    Similarly, GMOs aren’t that bad, compared to the business practices often surrounding them.

  8. @TheMagicbliss

    July 15, 2025 at 1:46 pm

    TED what ever happened to ideas worth spreading !? This certainly is not one of them.

    • @OberonNox

      July 15, 2025 at 5:47 pm

      They’ve been spreading pro-AI propaganda for a good while now. I don’t think I’ve seen a single Talk that either discussed the cons of its use or a Talk that was entirely anti-AI. :/
      At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re invested in or have been bought by one of the companies, I just haven’t looked into yet to confirm.

  9. @guiperion

    July 15, 2025 at 2:12 pm

    The numbers don’t fit. The new jobs that will appear in this new age will be very much specialized and not so many people will be needed for them. The less the better profit for companies. Unfortunately there are 8 billion persons and going up; so yes, be very afraid.

    • @gasdive

      July 15, 2025 at 8:19 pm

      There won’t be any new jobs. Machines did the repetitive work like weaving better and faster, so people had to invent creative roles that used brains rather than muscle. Now the machines will do the creative work better and faster. There’s no “alternative” job that needs neither muscle or brain. Even the few muscle/brain hybrid jobs like driving or assembly of wiring that needed both thinking and dexterity will go to AI.

      Worst, jobs like AI researcher will fall to AI, and when that happens the job of creating more capable machines will explode. As different as a woman with a scythe harvesting wheat is from a combine harvester. Not a little faster, but thousands of times faster. Completely out of control.

  10. @ehsanullaharjmand1249

    July 15, 2025 at 2:13 pm

    Not presenting as well as expected

  11. @SilverTonguedD3vil

    July 15, 2025 at 2:35 pm

    this is rediculous conjecture drawing absurd parallels. first ted talk in ages i was disgusted by.

  12. @FrancescoDiMauro

    July 15, 2025 at 3:34 pm

    never thought I would hear an Ayn Rand-esque kind of TED talk, brava! 👌

  13. @andr0oS

    July 15, 2025 at 3:34 pm

    lmao whoever takes this person seriously isn’t a serious person.

  14. @thenomad9853

    July 15, 2025 at 3:43 pm

    I’m *so* glad it’s okay, I’ll tell the bank that when they come looking for my mortgage payment. They’ll understand.

  15. @Cinnuhminn

    July 15, 2025 at 3:48 pm

    That title is horrible. TED has increasingly become corporate ego speeches over wisdom and insightfulness. Years ago it was well-respected and it rarely hits that level again nowadays

  16. @Goldmanvision

    July 15, 2025 at 4:15 pm

    Get her off the stage.

  17. @KidzBopOfficial

    July 15, 2025 at 4:27 pm

    I’m getting reaaaaal close to that unsubscribe button, TEDTalks. Sure seems like you’ve got a strong interest in telling people that they’re silly for having concerns of any kind about AI.

  18. @thesimplicitylifestyle

    July 15, 2025 at 4:33 pm

    Can’t stop the Wave so may as well ride It! 😎🤖

    • @oo7porschemgs995

      July 15, 2025 at 5:27 pm

      You can change the course of history… People, throughout history, have done just that…

  19. @ms9001

    July 15, 2025 at 4:52 pm

    yeah it’s totally ok. i will just live in the park and eat grass. at least i get to enjoy the sun and touch grass.

  20. @SyddG

    July 15, 2025 at 5:30 pm

    It’s OK for you because you’re old and have financial independence. Great TED talk.

  21. @nothingisawesome

    July 15, 2025 at 6:10 pm

    Luddite isn’t an apt response to the criticism. If someone is against a technology because they think it will ruin the world they are not a Luddite. Right away you aren’t engaging with their point

  22. @Alepfi5599

    July 15, 2025 at 7:55 pm

    The wuality of Ted has really taken a nosedive over the past year or so

  23. @HummusHunter

    July 15, 2025 at 8:10 pm

    TED: Ideas worth keeping to oneself

  24. @kaikefernandes6413

    July 15, 2025 at 8:46 pm

    Technology used to have as its main purpose the general improvement of the human life condition, nowadays its main goal seems to be the complete replacement and domination of humanity as a way to reenforce and secure the power and control of the already rich/powerful people…

  25. @kaikefernandes6413

    July 15, 2025 at 8:46 pm

    Technology used to have as its main purpose the general improvement of the human life condition, nowadays its main goal seems to be the complete domination and replacement of humanity as a way to secure the power and control of the already rich/powerful people…

    • @gigamoment

      July 16, 2025 at 7:46 am

      Or it just is at the ultimate goal of hugely improve our lives, but you can’t see it. Maybe you can try to see it and approach it openly.

  26. @paperspeaksco

    July 15, 2025 at 8:59 pm

    Yep, spotted the grift at the 5 min mark. She’s here for silicon valley PR telling us to stop fighting the techno billionaires. Also luddites weren’t fighting “progress”, they were fighting because their designs were being stolen by the loom owners for mass production without compensating the weavers (which is EXACTLY why we’re fighting AI now – IP theft) . Read the book Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant.

  27. @Bzteain

    July 15, 2025 at 11:01 pm

    While here in Latin America we’re super excited about the opportunities and capabilities that Artificial Intelligence will bring, you over there in the wealthy countries of the North seem deeply concerned about losing your way of life

    • @Schmidtelpunkt

      July 16, 2025 at 9:41 am

      The equation is very simple: ownership shifts further away from those who work to those with the capital. So if you are super excited about those “opportunities” it means that you are dumb enough to believe that those opportunities are yours.

  28. @iPodFayne

    July 15, 2025 at 11:20 pm

    I’m so tired of Ted’s AI propaganda, it feels like they are being paid to do this with how frequent it is. The channel quality and reputation has really been on the decline…

  29. @DuckieMcduck

    July 15, 2025 at 11:41 pm

    “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do if typing words in a row stops being profitable” if that’s how you’re gonna minimize your impact as a columnist then yeah, not gonna last. Didn’t even have to listen to the rest of the talk

  30. @DarkskiesSiren

    July 16, 2025 at 12:21 am

    Oh ok… maybe we should all listen to you. Or maybe you’re wrong because this is not the same kind of technological development… it’s idiotic to think that. Personally though I will work towards the future in whatever way I can to prevent our extinction.

  31. @SaltyWit-em2nn

    July 16, 2025 at 12:43 am

    Not okay. If you work in a call center, find a different job. AI is going to replace so much.

  32. @jorgelopezcifre

    July 16, 2025 at 3:17 am

    Simplemente fantástico,
    saludos desde Madrid…

    • @jorgelopezcifre

      July 16, 2025 at 3:24 am

      Creo que en los comentarios tenemos muchos luditas incapaces de imaginar como ganarse la vida en un mundo más desarrollado tecnológicamente.
      Es hora de empezar a adaptarse a esta nueva realidad !!!!

  33. @LiamJohnsonPodcast

    July 16, 2025 at 3:29 am

    Thank you!

  34. @TerrorTerros

    July 16, 2025 at 4:33 am

    Amazing to once again see how oversimplified a libertarian’s world view can be😅

  35. @gigamoment

    July 16, 2025 at 7:36 am

    I am looking forward for all people to lose our jobs to AI, and then we can live all together in happiness

  36. @yu-suke3332

    July 16, 2025 at 8:03 am

    I hope this powerful speech reaches people around the world as soon as possible—because sooner or later, everyone’s going to have to face this reality

    • @Schmidtelpunkt

      July 16, 2025 at 9:39 am

      And if it reaches them they can be cheerful about losing their jobs because so is this strong lady.

  37. @mjs1510

    July 16, 2025 at 11:00 am

    After watching an interview of Geoffrey Hinton, I can see very clearly how foolish this speech is. AI is totally different with industrial revolution in the past.

  38. @bosun99uk

    July 16, 2025 at 1:21 pm

    May AI never take away her laughter

  39. @michael_pilot

    July 16, 2025 at 1:49 pm

    This Ted talk has the merit in achieving unanimity (against him)

  40. @davidkim8127

    July 16, 2025 at 9:47 pm

    Rarely do i write a YT comment but felt compelled after watching this tripe.

    I should have turned it off right when she mentioned she was a libertarian, or when she misconstrued the Luddites (Their ire was more about the wealthy owners of new tech that was going to destroy livelihoods of regular people for their profit, sound familiar?), but when she started going off about how lucky we all are (and some ways, sure!) and that we could afford to stay home during a pandemic, lmao okay lady. Your ivory tower may not be tall but it still seems like an ivory tower since MANY people still had to work and navigate that chaos.

    I do see benefits for AI such as having an AI lawyer for low level offenses, or when they can accurately detect cancers from x-rays but this lady is off base

  41. @gofeeder2326

    July 17, 2025 at 1:28 am

    I’m a jc president. Jesus christ.

  42. @sj_88088

    July 17, 2025 at 8:12 am

    I love AI as a concept but when I learned how much fresh water it wastes and how many emissions it puts off I was like… this is actually stupid.

    • @bonatoc

      July 18, 2025 at 1:53 pm

      Not to mention the brainrot and the dissolving of personal agency, the obfuscation of truth.
      But no surprise here, the whole thing was built on the greatest theft ever witnessed.

  43. @emead528

    July 17, 2025 at 8:32 am

    Oh blah blah blah. So happy today. You are not helping.

  44. @tombombadil9123

    July 17, 2025 at 11:30 am

    What a wonderful example from history. It shows exactly why “technological progress” is bad 😂
    Well done, lady
    PS if you don’t know what I’m talking about, go read a bit more about Luddites

  45. @FfaHamas-b2i

    July 17, 2025 at 12:11 pm

    He Was a Doctor for free.

  46. @Tazer_Silverscar

    July 17, 2025 at 10:17 pm

    “AI gets better and better at writing competent prose” – Yes, but it doesn’t understand it. It’s recycling materials to make averages. Someone still has to write sources for the AI to copy. And that’s not just possible to do correctly without a human who knows how to write. Which makes getting an AI to write an article pointless.

    No, you don’t have an obligation to count those costs, all that does is make numbers. You have an obligation to make those costs COUNT. You have an obligation to make the people at the top see that the damage AI and replacing humans is causing, and that it is going to take a massive swipe at their bottom line. Because who are going to be your consumers if you’re stripping humans from every job? If all the options to earn the money that their businesses stand on just… suddenly go away. Because they will. They want to use AI to fully control the news, to put out unending slop that has no value. At that point, it’s not the news any more. It’s crap.

    Understanding the cost and teaching other people to understand that cost, being willing to be critical, to actually think for yourself, does not make you a Luddite. Accepting the claims of the AI developers, that there is no way out of this, is the thoughts and workings of a madman and a fool. You don’t have to back down in the face of something scary and unpredictable. You can fight. And you SHOULD fight. To just let it happen, is cowardice. And you know what? Most of these are still being developed in the US. Where they don’t understand that the sunk cost fallacy is just that – a FALLACY. A LIE. We don’t need to develop AI to be better. We just need to stop lying to each other, and lying to ourselves. We need to trust in people. We don’t need a Skynet.

    • @quinnyB29

      July 18, 2025 at 3:12 pm

      Period

  47. @GiaPearson

    July 18, 2025 at 8:08 am

    Innovation ALWAYS has unforeseen and often adverse effects. And yet progress HAPPENS. She’s right, we have to LIVE the change to understand what all the consequences are, good and bad. We can do our best to MINIMISE the bad outcomes, but we aren’t omniscient enough yet to see all ends. Progress happens whether we allow it or resist it. The best thing to do is make that progress as consciously as possible – but even that is not always in our control.

  48. @quinnyB29

    July 18, 2025 at 3:03 pm

    AI is a just another way for the ruling class to strip us of any power we have to fight back. It is extremely damaging to tell everyone “just let the future unfold” when there might not be a future to unfold because of climate change. The consequences are too dire and unfortunately we are not the top 1% we do not have the privilege to hope it all works out.

  49. @miguelmikemigs

    July 18, 2025 at 4:09 pm

    The sleight of hand here is they liken those in opposition to this current version of “AI” to luddites as if luddites were the only group to ever oppose progress.

  50. @SW-dq1nd

    July 18, 2025 at 5:28 pm

    Once Ai has all their jobs and robots the rest, we can all have plenty of time to weave rugs if we want and sell them to people who prefer human art to mechanical art. The only problem will be getting capitalistic business to agree to pay for our “virtual employment” lol.

  51. @jamesledger2742

    July 18, 2025 at 5:57 pm

    AI stole my art and replaced my concept art career. Trust me, my life has not improved. It’s got worse.

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