She Lost Her Job to AI While on Family Leave — A Stark Reminder of the Creative Industry’s AI Dilemma

A copywriter got here again from a week-long household depart and obtained the information that, regardless of her loyalty and constant efficiency, her job had quietly been handed over to AI — simply because it was cheaper.

That state of affairs isn’t ripped from the future; it’s occurring now, and it’s uglier than ironic.

In a Reddit submit that’s gone viral, the author shared how she selected not to plug into AI instruments, preferring unique thought — solely to be met with a sentence that hit more durable than any critique: “AI is cheaper.” Her stability shattered.

Ask your self: what does it really feel like to get up to that surreal second the place you’re advised your craft, voice, and sweat are actually deemed redundant?

It’s not a glitch in a dystopian script; it’s actual life, and it’s unsettling how swiftly issues are shifting in artistic careers.

This isn’t the solely story on the market. Remember Annabel, the garden-center copywriter who obtained let go after administration whispered, “Just put it in ChatGPT”?

She ended up dropping her dream job when AI took over her writing with out a lot fanfare—and all on an everyday workday.

But hey, let’s not fall into doom-and-gloom territory with out a pinch of nuance. There’s a robust argument that good copywriters nonetheless have a leg to stand on.

People who deeply perceive model voice, technique, story arcs — they’re nonetheless, and sure will stay, in demand. One seasoned author put it bluntly: AI will substitute the weak, however the expert? They’re untouchable.

Meanwhile, entrepreneurs aren’t simply pushing copy out with robotic robotitude — they’re utilizing AI to streamline mundane duties.

According to analysis from HubSpot, 68% of advertising leaders noticed ROI from AI, 75% used it to scale back handbook work, and a whopping 86% mentioned it frees up greater than an hour a day.

Sounds like a dream, proper? Except when that hour means potential layoffs for the people doing the precise writing.

So, the place does that depart us? On one hand, AI is a device that may turbocharge content material creation, particularly for formulaic or repetitive work.

On the different, it’s more and more seen as a swift and cost-effective substitute — particularly when budget-conscious companies need to trim workers. That Netflix of AI comfort is tempting, but it surely’s leaving gifted creatives out in the chilly.

Readers — in case you’re a author, marketer, or simply somebody who values a human contact — this can be a second to suppose strategically.

Upskill, lean into creativity, construct a voice no algorithm can mimic. Maybe ask your supervisor subsequent time: “Can AI do that job? Sure. But can it care? That’s the place I nonetheless reign.”