Note: I posted a shorter version of this theory a while ago, and it got over 300k views before being removed due to a weekend-only rule. Since then, I’ve deeply updated the theory with economic data and technological solutions. Enjoy!
Hi everyone. Recently, my dad told me that the career I'm dreaming of (filmmaking and sound engineering) will soon be replaced by AI. This got me thinking about a theory of what's actually ahead.
Think of AI as a massive pyramid being built by tech giants. To save money, they are firing skilled humans and replacing them with algorithms. But here's the catch: this pyramid is inherently unstable. If these corporations fire their entire workforce and the "AI bubble" eventually bursts (which it will), they'll be left with absolutely no one who knows how to actually do the work.
Even worse: if an entire generation grows up relying solely on AI, we will lose the fundamental human skills required to create. We'll become a generation that can't work without a "generate" button. The cracks are already showing — just look at how expensive and unsustainable models like Sora are becoming.
But why exactly will this bubble burst? There are two main reasons:
1. The Economic Dead-End. Running and training AI is insanely expensive. For context, by the end of 2025, OpenAI’s net loss reportedly reached a staggering $38.5 billion. The tech industry is running on a massive deficit, burning through investor cash. As soon as these maintenance costs hit a critical ceiling and investors realize there is no real profit, corporations will stop pumping trillions into the hype train, and the pyramid will instantly collapse.
2. The Technological Scaling Wall (Model Degradation). If the "big bosses" fire the human workforce, the influx of fresh, new human-created data will completely stop. But human creativity is exactly what AI feeds on to develop. Without it, AI will start training on content generated by other AI. This triggers a loop of digital degeneration—the product becomes cheap, buggy, and completely soulless. No one will buy it, AI companies will lose their remaining revenue, and the bubble will pop from the inside out.
How do we prevent the collapse?
We don't need to ban AI; we need to change how it's used. To save the technology from destroying itself, the industry must take two steps:
Shift from "Replacement" to "Augmentation": Corporations need to stop trying to replace human creators and start using AI to handle the mundane grunt work (rendering, basic editing, finding bugs). This frees up humans to focus on true creativity, vision, and direction. This makes the final product better, creating actual commercial value that people will willingly pay for.
Protect the Human Data Influx: Tech companies must stop training models on AI-generated content to prevent model degradation. The unique value of human craft, style, and raw data must be legally protected and fairly compensated. AI needs a constant injection of real human ideas to stay sharp and useful.
My take? AI should be a tool for humans, not a replacement. Because when the pyramid collapses, only those who still know how to use their own hands and brains will be left standing.
(P.S. I don't hate AI. It's cool when it's used as a tool for people, not as a replacement for them.)
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