It was January 2023.
I was at a friend’s wedding when another mutual friend who is a writer, and a very good one at that, casually mentioned that he had used ChatGPT and it did a better job than him.
I remember thinking, what is this guy saying?
A few days later, I tried it myself.
And I genuinely thought, what sorcery is this?
Now, I’m a poet. A good one. Poetry for me is not just words. It’s ruminating. Thinking. Feeling. Researching. Rewriting.
But this tool was producing decent poems in seconds.
Poems that would normally take me hours.
That was the moment I knew something had shifted.
Not just for writers. For everyone.
And strangely, I’ve always seen it as a positive shift.
The “AI Will Take Your Job” Narrative
We’ve all seen the headlines.
AI is coming for your job.
In some cases, yes. Certain tasks will disappear. Some roles will change. Some people will struggle.
But I don’t think that’s the whole story.
I actually think AI will create more opportunity than it destroys.
Let me use myself as an example.
Let’s say AI can now produce more poetry than I ever could. Does that mean Pelumi the poet is finished?
I don’t think so.
Because my job was never really typing poems.
My job was communicating a human message that resonates.
And interestingly, AI can help me do that better.
Evolution, Not Elimination
I’ve always wanted to turn my poetry into Afrobeats-inspired music.
The ideas were there. The concepts were there.
But production barriers were high. Time. Cost. Technical skill.
Now those barriers are lower.
I’ve begun to release poetry-inspired Afrobeats songs on YouTube, powered by AI tools.
Those songs probably would not exist without AI.
The stories are still mine.
The emotion is still mine.
The perspective is still mine.
AI just helped me execute faster.
That’s not replacement. That’s leverage.
AI in My 9–5
In my professional life, I use AI every single day.
It helps me analyze faster. Structure my thinking. Break down complex files. Refine strategy. Improve workflow.
I’ve even moved beyond just “prompting.”
I now have actual conversations with my AI assistants. Because AI is largely about context. The more context you provide, the more powerful it becomes.
And honestly, I still feel like I’m only scratching the surface.
History Has Seen This Before
This isn’t new.
When sewing machines were introduced, people sewing by hand were threatened.
And yes, some lost work.
But others evolved. Their real job was never just stitching fabric. It was creating fashion. Sewing machines allowed them to create more styles, faster, and reach more customers.
Another example is photography.
When photography emerged, painters were worried. Why would anyone need painters if a camera could capture reality instantly?
But painting didn’t die.
It evolved. It moved into impressionism, abstraction, expression. Creativity expanded instead of shrinking.
The tool changed. The value shifted.
The creators who adapted survived.
The Real Question
At the end of the day, people don’t pay for tasks.
They pay for value.
If your identity is tied to the task, you’ll feel threatened.
If your identity is tied to creating value, you’ll adapt.
AI might replace certain workflows.
But it cannot replace your lived experience, your taste, your judgment, your story.
Use the tool they said would replace you to create even more value.
That’s the real game.
See you in the next one.
Leave a Reply