Remember when Biden told coal miners to “learn to code” in 2019?
Maybe he should have told coders to learn to mine.
Every day, the ChatGPT machine crushes another knowledge worker under its polished bootheel.
Marketers, coders, designers, musicians… If you work with your brain, there’s a good chance you’ve felt the icy chill of the AI Grim Reaper rasping down the back of your neck.
And what about miners, truck drivers, and plumbers?
Truck drivers?
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a Roomba…
But, uh…
I don’t trust that fella to deliver corn syrup from Nebraska to Maryland without mistaking at least one billboard for an off-ramp.
How White-Collar Workers Can Avoid the Purge
Way I see it, office folks have three options:
- Dye your collar blue. Learn to mine. (Digging up diamonds in Minecraft doesn’t count.)
- Give up on life. Complain on Reddit and LinkedIn about how you can’t find clients or jobs while doing nothing to learn new skills or think outside the box.
- Find better clients.
And here’s the kicker—
For every business chugging the AI Kool-Aid, there’s another waking up and realizing… Wait, this stuff actually sucks.
Like the client I chatted with last night.
The ChatGPT Experiment Gone Wrong
He said, “I have all these pages and ads that we need ‘retouched,’ is that something you can help with?”
I raised my eyebrow because I already knew where this was going.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘retouched?’”
“Uh,” he looked uncomfortable. “We tried to write them with ChatGPT and, well…”
I laughed and said, “They suck, right?”
Looking like I’d absolved him of a great sin, he admitted:
“They’re SOOO bad. The more I look at them, the more I realize these are horrible…”
He sighed. “This might be more of a mess than I realized.”
Yep. I’ve seen this story play out before.
AI Disillusionment Is Real
From both a freelancer’s and a business owner’s perspective, AI is a useful tool in some contexts.
It’s already replacing the bottom 50% of some industries… maybe even higher.
But is that a permanent trend?
I don’t think so.
I’ve had my finger, and indeed my whole hand, on the beating pulse of AI since ChatGPT shocked the world with its bleach-drinking tips in 2023.
And let me tell you…
Businesses are realizing they still need humans.
So what was the point of outsourcing everything to AI in the first place?
That’s great news for freelancers. But…
What if you’re struggling to make those dirty Benjamins now?
How to Find Great Clients Who Understand Your Worth
You could keep pitching $20 emails to broke-as-a-joke Upwork clients…
OR…
You could use a proven system to attract clients who actually value your work.
I’ve nailed down a playbook that works. It’s not just for copywriters or marketers—it works for any freelancer looking to break free from AI’s bargain-bin replacements.
I plan on launching the full system later this year.
If you want first dibs and a discount when it goes live, hop on my email list. I’ll keep you in the loop.
Appalachian AI-Slayer,
Nick
