Ask HN: What to learn and do, that makes me least affected by AI in STEM?

7 pointss3arch3d ago6 comments

I could be wrong with what I say here. It's just the situation made me feel so.

Looks like AI learnt almost everything there is in the internet and textbooks today. I lost hope of learning anything new out there to make a reasonable difference and impact. Choose any topic AI knows. Its interpretation is far better than what I can come up with by myself. I feel robbed of my intellectual freedom to express and be accepted by others as others depend on AI for everything.

I recently started studying physics fundamentals to find solace. These fundamentals cannot be found through AI. No LLM can precisely measure and compare, but instead only predict. But this is mostly an intellectual exercise. I can't do a living from it.

I am a software engineer with average skills. I get paid reasonably okay as it helps me survive. Nothing more than that. But AI can make my world topple any time soon.

What should I look into as alternatives , even if it's less lucrative software compensation, so that I find AI can't over power me?

6 comments

tana_shahh1d ago

Pivot to hardware or something that doesn't uses much AI, BUT IS used in AI A LOT. Become a farmer or someone who is a part of food industry, humans are always gonna eat.

Either u help The AI IN SOMETHING, OR USE IT OPTIMALLY, OR GET REPLACED BY IT

dima-quant2d ago

AI is very good at standard and well defined problems but much less so with complex and vague. For example, currently available models cannot write or even port a full-feature compiler of a mature language without very custom tweaking and direct supervision. Even with multiple agents, it still remains just a tool, though quite powerful. As you already know physics and programming, data science can be a natural alternative that requires both skills. From my experience, many problems there are vague and most of the job is to actually make a proper representative dataset and translate vague requirements to something well defined. AI helps with the actual implementation, the other part remains mostly human.

swapnsri3d ago

There is no place to hide from AI, whenever big giants discover the untouched area they will start working on it, so either join startup and get job security for at least 2-3 years depending on your dependency over a project or be an entrepreneur yourself. I would recommend instead of escaping try embracing and do some extra work apart from you regular chores and present that also to the management i have built this or that using AI. We cannot party on weekends anymore it is a technological shift we must keep the momentum for at least 2 years from now to be in the game otherwise the layoffs are on their way. The more you fear, the more you lose. The more you practice, the more you gain

iExploder3d ago

In my humble human opinion everything digital has been or shortly will be conquered by AI.

You can either embrace it, learn to how to use and deploy AI or try to find a way out into the real world, until robotics will inevitably catch you in several years, for some professions with manual aspect you could have maybe decades of time.

manfromchina13d ago

Kernel Hacking. Human judgement here is still required and irreplaceable. For fast employment - Non Destructive Testing.

Keep studying physics, though. Go up to modern Solid State physics for a possibility of entering industries that revolve around chip production.

imhoguy2d ago

20exp SWE here, I've doubled down effort and focus on my communication and people skills. First helps with prompts, but both make a difference when I pickup a phone and my side-project client is delighted they are not talking with a bot and their problems can be addressed by myself. AI is just another tool in my toolset to help people.

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