For years, we have told young people—and ourselves—a consistent story about success: invest in yourself, learn a skill, get a degree, work hard, and contribute value. The formula may not be perfect, but it has largely defined modern capitalism and the idea of meritocracy.Artificial intelligence is beginning to fracture that story.I’ve written before about how AI is expected to radically change employment, but the pace of change now suggests something deeper. Within the next three years, we may see not just job disruption, but a fundamental reordering of how value, labor, and reward function in a capitalist society.For generations in America, Capitalism and human effort has been the primary engine of economic participation. We learned trades, developed expertise, and sold
