Unlike past industrial shifts, AI's impact won't be contained to specific industries. Once AI can perfectly replicate a human worker behind a keyboard, video, and mouse, it will trigger a simultaneous displacement wave across all remote-capable jobs.

AI agents are rapidly transforming software development and knowledge work, but their impact on professions requiring physical robotics, like surgery or auto repair, is on a much longer timeline. The AI revolution is arriving in phases, with the digital world being upended first and the physical world to follow later.

Countering job loss fears from robotics, Jensen Huang points to a second-order effect: the massive need for maintenance. A world with a billion robots will necessitate the largest repair and maintenance industry in history, creating a new category of skilled jobs.

The most significant societal and economic impact of AI won't be from chatbots. Instead, it will emerge from the integration of AI with physical robotics in sectors like manufacturing, logistics (Amazon), and autonomous vehicles (Waymo), which are currently under-hyped.

Brendan Foodie predicts that as AI automates digital roles, the displaced workforce will shift to physical world jobs (from robotics data creation to therapy). He argues this is because physical automation progresses much slower than digital automation, which benefits from rapid, self-reinforcing feedback loops.

The most transformative opportunities for founders lie not in crowded SaaS markets but in applying an advanced technology mindset to legacy industries. Sectors like lumber milling, mining, and metalwork are ripe for disruption through automation and robotics, creating massive, untapped value.

AI is rapidly automating knowledge work, making white-collar jobs precarious. In contrast, physical trades requiring dexterity and on-site problem-solving (e.g., plumbing, painting) are much harder to automate. This will increase the value and demand for skilled blue-collar professionals.

The initial job creation from AI isn't just for software engineers. It's driving a massive boom in physical infrastructure like data centers and chip fabs, creating high demand for skilled trades like electricians, plumbers, and construction workers.

The initial impact of AI on jobs isn't total replacement. Instead, it automates the most arduous, "long haul" portions of the work, like long-distance truck driving. This frees human workers from the boring parts of their jobs to focus on higher-value, complex "last mile" tasks.