Do You Think Your Work is of Mediocre Quality and Could be Replaced by AI? So, What Should You Do?
Of course, self-doubt and imposter syndrome are on everyone's mind when assessing this question. But are you sure you have a clear and objective view of the quality or importance of your work?
Steve Godin believes that mediocre work won’t survive in the face of AI, and I tend to agree with him. I’m not going to expand on his viewpoint or mine here because I want this article to focus on awareness, but above all, on solutions and actions.
The first step is that if you’re unsure about the quality of your work, you probably need an external evaluation. This person may not necessarily be your colleague or boss, as their feedback can be biased for various reasons—such as tact, rivalries, or performance management—just to name three, though there are many more.
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Which jobs will be replaced? Everyone has their list.
But creating anything without personal value—which remains to be defined but could include exceptional creativity, significant ideas, or unique experiential insights—is doomed. AI is already doing better than you in such cases.
For decades, your personality has been a major factor for any given position.
Now, more than ever, what cannot be replaced is the unique work that only you can do.
Only humans and their intellectual juice will survive when AI reaches the level of the top researchers, but at 100 times the current speed. So try to imagine the quality of its work. Personally, I can’t get a clear picture of it, especially regarding the daily impact. And anyway, I don’t spend my whole day pondering it.
The day AI replaces you, you won’t be able to simply find the same job elsewhere. Others will be replaced, too, and the market will be saturated with positions no one will be offering anymore.
The point isn’t to dramatize but to push you to think and reinvent yourself today.
Browse through the forecasters’ articles, or ask ChatGPT or Copilot to list the jobs likely to disappear. Cross-reference this information, and if you’re affected, start planning for your next job tomorrow—a Plan B, a lifeline.
If you’re doing a basic or mediocre job in terms of quality, investment, or results, then you have two choices:
- Move from mediocre to excellent
- Retrain as soon as possible for a career change
Those who’ve worked with me know that I’ve been advocating this for 20 years: a personal reflection on career orientation or reorientation, driven by desire, based on the foundations and mechanisms that vary from person to person, as well as deep interests, values, and possibly passion, a calling, or a mission, is the most certain way to thrive at work, produce excellent work, and remain desirable in the job market.
Unfortunately, that’s not a guarantee of quality.
On the verge of the revolution AI will bring to the working world, this message still stands, now more than ever.
But I would add an element of quality as a constant priority. And sometimes, quality only comes with experience.
That’s why you need to get started right away.
Don’t put it off until tomorrow; that would be your biggest mistake. When you’re caught up in your daily grind and finally get a moment to breathe, you often just want to unwind, not necessarily think about a project. It’s hard to lift your head up and take action, as you tend to put it off.
Starting now, carve out 30 minutes of reflection each day. Write down your thoughts and progress on this topic, then review them after two weeks or a month.
