Will AI destroy the mastery-fullfilment relationship?

[StaraX]

It is well known that fulfillment comes from being good at something, and thus developing mastery in at least one field is essential in order to feel fulfilled, to survive, and to escape wage slavery. My main concern is whether AI will disrupt this mastery–fulfillment relationship. I know many professionals in finance and accounting who have invested years, if not decades, developing mastery and the skills necessary to survive or break free from wage slavery, and who are now obsessively anxious about being replaced by AI in the coming years. And let’s not forget that accounting and finance are not easy fields, either in university or in practice. Also, these are just two fields that not too long ago were considered very promising. I remember attending seminars where people kept telling us that coding and data analytics skills were crucial and must be learned. Yet now we can see how good ChatGPT is at coding, regardless of the programming language.

Are we facing a situation where people devote several years of their lives and make huge sacrifices (less family life, fewer beautiful women, less partying, etc.), only to have their reward be replacement by AI? If that is the case, do not expect healthy, conscious citizens in the future because there is no way in hell young people will tolerate it.

[LordFall]

I expect the greatest masters that humanity has ever known to be produced in the coming years as the limits of human intelligence are pushed further than ever before. 

[StaraX]

17 hours ago, LordFall said:

I expect the greatest masters that humanity has ever known to be produced in the coming years as the limits of human intelligence are pushed further than ever before. 

@LordFall What about the millions of others who have invested years of their lives to develop expertise in their chosen field? Being a master at hunting rabbits is pointless if there are no rabbits.

[ted73104]

With the current level of AI technology, I believe that the highest level that AI can perform is limited by the highest level a human can perform. This is because AI can only mimic human behavior and study what humans have already published. AI cannot really invent anything next level by itself if you understand how chatGPT and related AI works. So AI is basically only a machine that can do a higher level of basic stuff faster, its like a computer using a computer for the human. So in the end AI will only replace current levels of mastery that it can learn, while assisting the human to push towards higher levels of mastery.

[LordFall]

On 9/22/2025 at 2:20 PM, StaraX said:

@LordFall What about the millions of others who have invested years of their lives to develop expertise in their chosen field? Being a master at hunting rabbits is pointless if there are no rabbits.

The market is a beautiful thing. You can choose to master things that other humans value or you can choose to master random things like playing the flute with your feet. AI will only enhance market driven mastery and won't stop you from pursuing subjective mastery so I don't see any potential problems. 

[VividReality]

@StaraX True Mastery of every young person in the future will become more dependent then ever before. Because every need will be met, and it'll only matter what they wish/desire/want to master. 
Each young person will stand before a blank canvas and ask, “What do I wish to become great at — not to survive, but to express?