AI just disrupted World Economy

Last week on Monday, Goldman Sachs automated its entire accounting workflow. Tuesday, a Chinese startup called Seedence 2.0 released a video generator that does for 50,000 dollars what used to take a full production team. Then Wednesday, Anthropic dropped five enterprise plugins, and Wall Street wiped billions off the SaaS sector before launch.

Four days, four industries, one pattern: everything swappable got priced to zero.

I hosted a five-hour Space breaking down what happened. 200+ people showed up. The room was split between people who saw it coming and people who felt this wasn't really happening to them. (Listen to the recording)

But they had 1 thing in common.

They all wanted to know one thing: "How do I know if I'm next?"

The answer is a test I call the "Swap Test."

Imagine the same output and the same deadlines. Would anybody notice when you are gone? If the answer is no, the market is already pricing in your replacement. This isn't because you're bad at your job; it's simply because the job itself is swappable. The person doing it does not matter; the output is the output.

This is exactly what happened to Goldman's accountants. They were let go because the role they played and the function they performed could be replicated without them. Nobody would notice they were gone. Now the company is making more money than ever while headcount is shrinking. Those two facts are not contradictory: they are the same fact.

There are three layers where AI is directly impacting us:

1. Layer 1: The tool
   The software, the platform, and how it is being applied.

2. Layer 2: The operator
   The person who uses these tools to produce output.

3. Layer 3: The strategist
   The person who decides what should be built and why.

AI is currently destroying layers 1 and 2 simultaneously. The tools themselves are being replaced by AI agents that do not require separate interfaces, and the operators running those tools are being replaced because AI can run itself for a lower cost and likely produce better output quality.

Conversely, Layer 3 is getting amplified. This is the layer where people decide what matters, what to build, what to ignore, and what to say no to. The people in this layer are becoming more valuable, as they now possess the execution power that previously required a team of 10 or 15 people through the use of agents.

If you are reading this, you must ask yourself: which layer am I operating on? People often ask if AI will take their jobs. If you are on Layer 1 or 2, AI is already compressing that layer and you are likely next in line. If you are on Layer 3, you are about to have more power and leverage than ever before.

But again, conditions apply.

What does the market actually reward now? Let's find out.

There are five things that AI cannot replicate:

1. Perspective
   Two people can have the same topic, yet it feels completely different.

2. Sense-making
   AI can generate information, but it is the human beings who decide what it means. Choosing what matters, what to ignore, and what to act on is still a human activity.

3. Trajectory
   Your story has an arc: where you come from, what you are building, and where you are going. People follow trajectories.

4. Evolving Taste
   I have had AI write content in my voice. I read it and thought, "Hey, I don't want to sound like that anymore." Taste changes and develops, whereas AI loops on the same patterns.

5. Energy
   You can call it presence, a vibe, or whatever you want. When someone shows up live and teaches a subject for five hours, that is energy. That energy is felt. It is why we still go to YouTube to watch people talk or join spaces.

How to run the Swap Test on yourself:

Three questions (and answer them honestly):

1. Could someone else do your work and nobody notices?
   If yes, then you're operating on layer one or two. The work needs to change.

2. Is your work tied to your unique perspective and journey?
   If you removed your name from your output, would it feel generic?

3. Would your audience notice if AI replaced you?
   Your audience—not your boss, not your employer, not your friends—your audience. The people who follow you, hear you, and listen to you. If they wouldn't notice, you haven't built enough trust and trajectory for your voice to matter.

If you answered "yes, no, no," you now have a problem.

But the good news is, it's fixable.

Until next time.

-Vaibhav (VB)