Have you heard about OpenAI’s Sora yet? (Are we all f*cked?)

Over the last week I’ve had at least half a dozen people anxiously reach out to me regarding the introduction of Sora – the latest generative AI tool from OpenAI (the company that also created ChatGPT).

Been living under a rock?

→ Here’s a 10 min demo of what Sora can do with just a few simple text prompts. It’s both mesmerizing and terrifying all at the same time.

For all of those on the production end of content creation who were screaming last year during the strikes, “AI won’t affect people on set, just settle the damn strikes so we can go back to work!”

❗NOW DO YOU SEE WHY EVERYONE NEEDS TO PAY ATTENTION?❗

OpenAI’s Sora completely changes the content creation game. This technology in combination with ChatGPT is bigger than the printing press, electricity, and automobiles.

Combined.

Which begs the question for everyone who creates for a living…

Are we all f*cked?

As I’ve been saying for over a year now, anyone claiming to be an “expert” who can foretell where artificial intelligence is going next is full of shit (including me). Not even those creating the technology itself can accurately predict what will come next (or how quickly). Therefore I won’t even pretend to have any idea how this will affect those of us who make a living being creative.

But given that AI is about to become a multi-trillion dollar industry, it’s clear there is no stopping the emergence of this technology. Every single major tech company – Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, just to name a few – are already investing billions of dollars to see who will dominate this space for generations to come.

It’s also clear that despite not knowing yet exactly how this technology will shape creative industries, those who make a living with a single, highly specialized skillset are in big trouble and need to come up with a Plan-B. Fast.

But I don’t think we’re f*cked.

Storytelling has been necessary to human survival since the beginning of civilization.

WHAT we do as a species – telling stories to make sense of our human existence – has not changed and will not change anytime soon.

But HOW we tell those stories? Yeah…everything is about to change. And faster than the human mind can comprehend.

Imagine explaining to a cave man who tells stories by drawing pictures on cave walls how Netflix works…

This is where I think we are trying to pontificate the future of AI and content creation.

But I don’t think we’re f*cked.

I do however think we have a very urgent need to pivot the skillsets we develop to prepare us for the emergence of the 21st century…because [SPOILER ALERT] the real 21st century is just beginning.

The last 20+ years have just been practice.

In order to thrive during the 20th century Industrial Revolution, we needed the ability to read, write, do math, memorize information, follow directions, show up on time, and do what we were told. We learned highly specialized mechanical skills & crafts, and we learned how to efficiently become a small cog in a much larger machine.

In order to thrive in the still-emerging 21st century, prioritizing human intelligence is what will separate us from artificial intelligence.

These 21st Century Human Skills include (but are not limited to):

• Critical thinking (i.e. problem solving)
• Creativity
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Learning
• Time management
• Energy management
• Attention management
• Flexibility & Resilience

Navigating the world to come has become a three-dimensional game of Chess. And it’s going to take time to see the results of this change and land on our feet.

But what if you’re desperate for a job RIGHT NOW?

Given how slow the economy has been for over a year now – especially given that 2024 has become the year of cutting costs across many industries – I realize how urgent the need is to find work right now.

Here’s how I advised one of the newest students in the Optimizer Community who messaged me recently asking the following:

Hi Zack, I’m just so panicked from not working for such a long time that I want to spend time applying for jobs outside the field although it is not my passion and will make me far less money. It’s hard to stay focused on my goals when I need cash and the future seems bleak. Feeling confused and not sure of what to do…

Here’s the summary of my response:

Thanks for reaching out, I’m sorry about your current job situation. So many others are in a similar place. If you identified your goal for now is that you need cash, what are the most obvious opportunities that could get you cash the quickest?

1. Make a list of the “paycheck jobs” you could pursue where you’re an obvious choice based on your present & past experience
2. Identify where those opportunities are right now
3. Make a list of the people to reach out to who could either hire you (gatekeepers) or be your advocate (peers & experts)

I’d be happy to do a hot seat to discuss next steps, that’s why I have Office Hours!

And because this student has the Optimizer Premium Package, we’re going to jump onto a 20-min Hot Seat tomorrow morning to help them strategize what they can be doing RIGHT NOW to land a quick paycheck job.

👉Click here for your Optimizer 7-day free trial

I’d love to know…

1. What advice would you give someone who’s willing to take just about any job just to pay the bills right now?
2. What 21st Century human skills do you want to learn next? And why?