As AI learns skills one by one, do you love the work or just being needed?
nathanbenaich · x · 2026-11-04
The author argues most people have never distinguished between loving their work and loving being needed—two feelings that look identical from the inside. As machines absorb skills one at a time, people who built identities around being needed will face a question they've avoided: did I love this, or did I love being the one who could do it? Those who love the work will continue alongside machines; those who loved being needed will feel something fall away that the work can't replace—and most won't know which they are until the moment arrives.
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