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- ♞ YCs- How to spend your 20s in the AI Era
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What can we learn from YC’s recommendations?
In July, YC released its recommendations on how to spend your 20s in the AI era. The recommendations have been controversial to some, but I believe that there are some key takeaways that we can all apply to our daily lives.
Let’s look at the list and discuss it in more detail.
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Human vs AI differentiators - Noting that agency and independence are the key differentiators between humans and AI is an interesting point. The hidden message is that if you don’t use that agency and independence to make decisions (such as starting your own business), then you will simply be doing work that can be done/replaced by AI. This is an incredibly important lesson.
Outcomes over credentials - For a long time, our society has valued credentials above all else. This has slowly been changing as younger people have been able to demonstrate value earlier in their careers, leapfrogging those ahead of them. In the age of AI, when industries can be disrupted in days, weeks or months instead of years or decades, it seems YC believes that companies will push further towards prioritizing outcomes over credentials. This is a fundamental shift in the way that the world operates.
Technical expertise over domain expertise - We have long known that outsiders are best at revolutionizing industries. Still, YC appears to be taking this further, believing that we will see a reversal of the recent trends that have led to a decline in the value of developers. This is likely the point I agree with the least, and it also seems self-defeating. One of the things that AI can already do best is code. Software development is an industry ripe for change, and that change should provide industry experts with the tools to create new apps, tools and products without technical expertise.
Regardless of your opinions, this guide is worth reading, as YC tends to reflect the views of the broader investment community. This guide, therefore, helps you understand where investors are coming from and what they are likely to be looking for based on their views and understanding of the future.
Do you agree with YC? |
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