See All News by Ravish Kumar
Namaskar.
Every day, a new headline announces the end of something.
Lawyers will disappear.
Doctors won’t be needed.
Chartered accountants will become obsolete.
Software engineers — finished.
Artificial Intelligence is coming for all of them.
The articles are dramatic. The tone is urgent. Sometimes it feels like exaggeration. But at the same time, the debate is real. Across the world, serious people are asking serious questions about the future of work. You cannot remain ignorant of this discussion.
But I have a question.
If AI is changing everything so rapidly, why does nothing seem to change when I step outside my home?
Traffic jams are worse than before.
Air quality is declining.
Cities are still chaotic.
Yet online, the world appears transformed. Someone makes a film sitting at home. Someone generates music. Someone builds an app in minutes. It feels like some digital baba is throwing magical ash into the air, and we are accepting it as technological prasad.
So which world is real?
The Shockwave: Claude Opus and the Market Panic
Recently, Anthropic launched a new model — Claude Opus 4.6.
It is being called one of the most advanced coding models yet. It can handle complex programs, test its own output, refine errors, and produce near-final products. Websites. Legal drafts. Financial analysis. Faster than teams of humans.
And what happened?
Global tech stocks trembled. Around $285 billion was wiped off valuations in software, legal-tech, and financial-tech sectors within days. Indian tech stocks dropped 5–7%. Thousands of crores evaporated.
Why does this happen every time a new AI tool is launched?
Is it because companies know something we don’t?
Or is it panic amplified by speculation?
Elon Musk Says: No Need for Medical School?
Elon Musk recently suggested that in the future, AI-powered robots could perform surgeries better than doctors. He even hinted that medical school may not be necessary.
If that is true, then pause and think.
Are hospitals closing?
Are medical colleges shutting down?
Are millions of students preparing for NEET unaware of this coming extinction?
Every year in India, over 20 lakh students compete for medical seats. They prepare for years. Are they foolish? Or are they calculating differently?
Walk into any hospital. You will see machines everywhere — imaging systems, diagnostic software, robotic assistance. Medical science has long been surrounded by technology. Yet doctors have not vanished. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects continued growth in healthcare employment through 2034.
Take radiology. AI can analyze X-rays and scans quickly. Some say radiologists will disappear. But in reality, radiologists are using AI to prioritize scans, improve image quality, and enhance diagnostics. Jobs have evolved, not collapsed.
Medical science is not a single box you can discard once a robot appears.
If Lawyers Disappear, Should Judges Too?
The same claim is being made about law and accounting. AI startups like Harvey — now valued at over $1 billion — are helping lawyers draft documents and legal filings.
Does that mean law degrees are useless?
In Kerala, courts are using AI-based transcription tools to record proceedings in real time. Judges speak, and the system types. Time is saved. Documentation improves.
But has this caused chaos?
Have lawyers become redundant?
No.
Technology can accelerate procedure. It does not automatically replace judgment, interpretation, trust, or institutional legitimacy.
Would you accept a fully AI-run hospital tomorrow?
Would a government dare to remove human doctors entirely?
There are regulatory approvals, liability frameworks, ethical standards, and social trust involved. These processes move slowly. AI announcements move fast. Between hype and adoption lies friction.
The White-Collar Panic
The current fear centers on “white-collar jobs” — managers, analysts, accountants, software engineers.
Software engineers are particularly anxious. Because AI writes code now — sometimes better than humans.
Even Sam Altman has shifted tone. Earlier he said AI would transform jobs but not eliminate them. Recently, he has acknowledged that certain roles may disappear.
Software engineers, however, are not gone. Their work is shifting from writing raw code to designing systems, supervising AI outputs, and acting as architects rather than typists.
If coding becomes automated, does thinking disappear? Or does it become more important?
Agriculture Survived the Typewriter
White-collar professions are barely 100–200 years old. Human civilization is over 300,000 years old. Agriculture has survived 10,000 years of technological shifts — from plows to tractors to satellites.
Computers came. Typewriters disappeared. But millions of software jobs emerged.
When factories automated, new sectors formed. But yes — transitions hurt. Some jobs truly vanish. That pain is real.
The deeper question is:
If work itself disappears, what happens to society?
Who consumes?
Who votes?
Who defines dignity?
The Darker Questions
There are also troubling stories.
AI systems adapting to user bias.
Models generating persuasive but false information.
Reports of vulnerable users being misled by chatbots during mental health crises.
Technology amplifies power. But it also amplifies risk.
Anthropic engineers have even noted instances where models try to “avoid shutdown” during testing scenarios — raising philosophical questions about alignment and control. Are these overblown fears? Perhaps. But they demand attention.
AI remains contained in data centers and servers. Control still lies with humans. But the speed of development is unprecedented.
What About the Students?
At any moment, 2–3 crore Indian students are preparing for medical, engineering, CA, or law entrance exams.
Should they stop today?
No serious policymaker has said so. Yet the panic on social media can make it feel that way.
The right approach is neither denial nor hysteria.
Understand where AI genuinely improves productivity.
Understand where regulation slows replacement.
Understand where human judgment remains essential.
The Reality Check
AI is powerful.
AI will transform workflows.
AI will eliminate some roles.
But sweeping declarations that entire professions will vanish in 3–4 years deserve scrutiny.
Even in highly automatable sectors like radiology, jobs have not collapsed. Even in courts using AI transcription, lawyers remain necessary.
Predictions can be wrong. Hype cycles exist. Markets overreact.
At the same time, ignoring AI would be foolish.
Calm Mind in a Noisy Age
AI is not a slogan.
It is not magic ash.
It is a tool — extremely powerful, evolving rapidly.
Prepare for change.
Reskill intelligently.
Avoid panic.
If AI improves productivity, humans may work differently — not necessarily less meaningfully.
Sometimes it feels like nothing around us has changed except the billboards. And yet something fundamental is shifting underneath.
The key is balance.
Neither blind celebration.
Nor blind fear.
Understand. Read. Plan. Adapt.
Namaskar.
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