The Great Termination: Why the Next 7 Years Will Redefine Human Work Forever
We keep hearing it. "AI will enhance jobs, not replace them." It's the same reassuring mantra repeated by CEOs, consultants, and optimists everywhere. But I've spent the past three years building AI applications in voice and chat as a Chief AI Officer. I've watched the technology evolve from impressive to devastating. And I need to tell you something nobody wants to hear: They're lying to you. Or worse, they actually believe it. The "AI will enhance not replace" narrative is exactly like saying automobiles would enhance horses, not replace them. Sure, technically true in the narrowest sense, some horses still exist. But we didn't need 20 million horses in 1900 to become 20 million "enhanced" horses in 1950. We needed about 3 million. The other 17 million? Gone. Except this time, you're the horse. The Numbers Don't Lie, They Scream October 2025 just became the worst month for job cuts in over 20 years. Companies announced 153,074 layoffs, almost triple the same month last year. This isn't a blip. This isn't a correction. This is the beginning. By July 2025, over 130,000 tech workers had already lost their jobs. The year isn't even over and we've seen more than 806,000 total job cuts announced, the highest figure since 2020. But here's what should terrify you: these aren't struggling companies. Microsoft posted $70.1 billion in revenue (up 13%) while cutting 15,000 jobs. Cisco reported a 5% revenue increase and then laid off hundreds. Intel is eliminating 15% of its entire global workforce, not because they're failing, but because they're "optimizing." The pattern is clear: profit is up, humans are out. What's Really Happening Behind the Press Releases Let me give you the translation guide for corporate-speak: When Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says AI will lead to a "reduction in corporate workforce," he's not talking about restructuring. He's talking about 14,000 middle managers being shown the door. When Microsoft mentions GitHub Copilot writing 30% of new code, they're explaining why they don't need thousands of engineers anymore.