pace

As a founder, one additional task for me is keeping up with the rapid advancement of AI and what the future holds—both internally and externally. The pace of advancement is skyrocketing. This is unfolding even more rapidly than the open-source cloud wars, the PaaS wars, or the evolution of DevOps tools. I’m not sure who the ultimate winner will be or what standards will emerge, but it’s keeping all of us on our toes.

Early signs suggest that many automation and low-level coding tasks are being replaced. At the same time, areas like content, marketing, legal, and finance are experiencing a major upheaval.

I believe the way we use software is going to change dramatically. We’re already seeing people turn to ChatGPT and similar tools instead of Google or Bing for search.

Will we still need SaaS platforms, web apps, mobile apps, or Alexa-like interfaces? Or will everything consolidate into a unified LLM prompt? Does this mean we’ll no longer need to invest heavily in front-end development?

It seems like every piece of software might eventually evolve into an assistant, operating primarily through voice.

change

Over the past 18 years of my career, I have witnessed the technological landscape evolving. And if I add my encounter as a kid with the Internet, we have come a long way.

  1. No more PCOs and queues to make STD calls. We all have mobile phones now.
  2. No more cyber cafes—once a center for connecting and socializing. I know a few friends who got married after meeting strangers at a cyber cafe. <story for another blog>
  3. No more dial-up internet connections over BSNL.
  4. Death of CD/floppy drives with the arrival of pen drives.
  5. Cable TV to DTH.
  6. Internet via a cable service provider to fiber cable at home.
  7. TVs and journalism with advertisements shifting to the internet.
  8. Social gatherings happening over the internet rather than in person.
  9. Food delivery, clothes, ACs, and dating via an app.
  10. Shifting from compiling RPM/DEB packages to apt-get install with a click.
  11. Buying/burning Linux distributions from friends or labs to downloading the OS on a pen drive.
  12. Entire marriage celebrations are now captured on a tiny mobile phone, including post-processing.

A hundred others are missing from the list above. In short, our society has become more lazy and prosperous. The rapid change at which we have moved this far is beyond imagination.

In the last few months, I have been reading and witnessing a big wave of AI—or artificial intelligence—coming. It will not end up well. Most things will be automated, and generalists will have a tough time. If we go by stats, the number of entry-level jobs in IT, once considered the safest in any storm, is widely impacted. From content, marketing, media, and finance, the same is going on—people are being laid off, and hiring is at a freeze.

I am imagining a social shift with the advancement of AI, where minimalism will become mainstream and alternate careers will become the new norm. We will move back to our old roots. It is scary and painful at the same time.

I see metro cities drying up soon in India. The AI wave will result in it. No more formal jobs, no more need to be physically available. We will have multiple jobs—from being a barista to a coder to a farmer. Our future is going to be different.

Others

We have many friends around us or people in our vicinity who thrive on pleasing others. As a result, they end up wearing a different skin, lacking originality of their own. It can win them deals and make them rich.

Deep down, as they age and the crowd disappears, all that is left is old age calling them to act on themselves. A part of them is uncovered, making them realize who they truly are.

Time and again, driven by capitalist and materialistic desires, we end up becoming who we are not. The constant battle within can drive some of us mad. The quest to become someone is achieved, but the discovery of the true self gets lost along the journey.

narrative

I am not sure if the narrative we have built is from our past experiences. It is our internal checklist. How will it play out in multiple scenarios or longer run in life can be a life changer.

We are taught to be open-minded and welcoming about various thoughts and ideas. As a human, we are built to act against it. Our past keeps coming to haunt us. It defines what is good or bad.

Time and again we have lost love, life, and wealth by missing out on opportunities because our narratives were against it.

granted

We take most things in our life for granted. The freedom to be independent financially or personally. This is something the maximum population around the globe is missing. We are blessed, but we don’t realize it. Not everyone is born rich or lucky to have all this.

Modern-day self-help keeps selling you an agenda of you can do anything. The reality is far from it. When every ounce of your energy is about preparing for the next meal or not being killed, does this self-help do any help?

convenience

Our humanity thrives on convenience. Every single innovation of humanity has driven society towards it. We call ourselves advanced because most of the manual labor we have automated. The era of finding love, counseling, food, and soulmates all started happening over finger tap.

Is there a flip side to it? Some will say our lifestyle has gone towards being a couch potato, time spent on fields is now spent watching Netflix. We are more of a society breeding individualism. The emergence of influencer-led sales says it all.

We are more of a faceless society where one section is at the bottom of the pyramid doing everything for our convenience and another gets sick of the sedentary lifestyle. We are more disconnected in real and more connected virtually. Our emotions are mechanized too. We are paying price of a civilized generation.

emotions

In a high-pressure environment where the stakes are high and both risks and rewards are significant, emotions will inevitably run high. As long as everyone’s position is heard and there are no personal attacks, this emotional intensity can be healthy.

When individual, team, and organizational goals are aligned, it creates a win-win situation. In such cases, emotions can lead to a net positive outcome. However, when alignment is lacking, ongoing struggles arise. Anger and animosity may develop on both sides, affecting the entire team. In such scenarios, the better approach is to take a step back, reassess the organization’s goals, and part ways with those who do not align with the broader mission.

Fire

I keep hearing that hiring is a challenge. We have had our share, too. One thing that has stood by us is finding people with fire—in crude terms, fire in the butt (gand me dum). Some people think I am offending them by saying this during interviews.

A startup is a roller coaster ride. Apart from the runway, there are many other things to worry about. What works in these situations is having a team with the core virtue of going all in for the kill. We need people with fire and ownership.

With a small team like ours and what we have been building, this approach has worked for us—finding people with “bum me dum.” I believe anyone and everyone can learn things, but the attitude of owning and running the show is what makes a big difference.

balance

The era of a balanced life is over. Our parents were lucky to have stable 9-to-5 jobs and enough time to spend on hobbies. The burden of consumerism and mass migration is upon us. Let me not even remind you about inflation and unaffordable real estate prices.

We used to manufacture things before making China the factory of the world. The peril of that is now everyone wants a cabin job. The service industry will go through a major overhaul as AI is knocking on our door. There won’t be enough jobs to fulfill everyone’s dreams.

The era of higher studies isn’t going anywhere either. Even Ivy League placements have dried up. Our lives are due for a major reshuffle. We have to stop taking things for granted.

I’d say entrepreneurship is the next big thing—if you have the heart for it and the quest to travel uncharted territory. Nothing is easy, nothing is difficult, as long as your ass is on fire and you’re willing to go to any length to make life worth living. And having a balanced life will be the last of it.

Commit

It is great to dream of having a good life, a satisfying job, a life partner, and loving friends around. Most humans strive for these things. In reality, very few achieve them. The reason is “missing commitment.”

The lever between success and failure in transforming a dream into reality requires commitment from the self. No one will come and feed you or hand-hold you in making your dreams into reality.

In short, your life is in your hands and requires a lot of commitment from you. A satisfying job comes with equipped tech know-how, a life partner comes when you both are committed together, and friends stay when you are there for them at all times: good or bad.