Ready-Like: Let’s call it what it is: ai colonizing
ai is coming for your job. But first, it’ll colonize your expertise.
Oh, the fear of ai permeates our nostrils.
You can’t scroll for more than two posts on LinkedIn without bumping into somebody talking about chatgpt em dashes (—) or an ai-generated action figure graphic.
Why is everyone suddenly a doll? Newest AI trend is more than harmless fun (CBC)
Like this one LinkedIn poster, a Creative Director—in fact—identified that if they don’t learn a new ai trick fast and in a hurry, they will be replaced. After posting an ai-generated model with human-like imperfections, their practice ad faced backlash for ai’s use instead of a real person. “Because I need to learn new skills and practice, otherwise I'm going to be replaced too…”
A LinkedIn poster expresses ai concerns
That’s what this entire article is about. And I have a lot to say about the topic.
fear-mongering?
About a month back, Micha Kaufman, Fiverr CEO (the company that did a commercial jingle on “nobody cares if you use ai” with their freelance marketplace but, it turns out, we do. Them. I wrote about it here). Sent an email to staff, exclaiming that ai was going to take their jobs. Including his own.
He was even bold enough to share that same email on Twitter (X).
source: X
And honestly…*slow claps*.
I agree.
We collectively, WE, downplay the power and the dangers of ai. It’s not just out for our jobs, THAT’S only the casualty. It’s out for US. Our identity.
*Type this into chatpgt right now: “What are the threats of ai. Be honest,” and see what it says.
ai learns from human data. Us.
ai learns art, writing, language, music, voice, video, code, law.
ai learns bias, racism, sexism, classism, and every other -ism.
ai then optimizes it and repackages it.
Sounds a lot like colonizing, doesn’t it?
As much as there is good in how it can supercharge us in our work and life…there are unspoken threats. And when you do speak up on the threats, you’re fear-mongering. Like in the Fiverr CEO’s case.
But deepfakes are a real, present reality.
Forget fake news. Imagine even faker people. Not fake like your sister’s BFF who acts like a Stepford wife. I mean ai generating entire political speeches, protests, or war crimes that never happened, all in HD with the voice to match (see the movie G20 with Viola Davis for an eerie representation).
Don’t believe the hype…at least not all of it.
ai-first?
Duolingo, everyone's favorite psycho bird. And language learning app recently fired all their contractors (first translators, then writers) and replaced them with ai.
Source: TechCrunch
Let me write that again: They fired translators.
Professionals closest to the cultural language, so you feel like you’re learning authentic dialect instead of playing a game of linguistic charades. And for that lovely trade-off, we get 148 new language courses generated by ai. What would’ve taken them 12 years to accomplish, they did it in one.
Hip hip hooray!
This is what it means to be an ai-first company. It’s oddly similar to a profit-first company. The similarities are uncanny.
But before you write me off as sounding bitter about it, I want you to know that I am a Duolingo Devotee.
This criticism comes from a loving place for their on-the-pulse marketing and how they’ve set the bar for employee engagement. I am challenging them to think bigger and be braver in their language learning approach.
They could’ve built an immersive program for learners. Connecting learners to native speakers in their home country (I see an Airbnb partnership).
They could’ve leveraged the translators to create paid micro-courses focused on regional slang, idioms, and cultural references too.
They could’ve created Duolingo Originals. Web-based series that help learners grasp the language through telenovelas (hello, Netflix or maybe YouTube).
They could’ve made contractors in-app coaches as a paid upgrade.
They could’ve struck up EdTech licensing deals with schools, orgs and governments.
“Instead of shrinking their soul to scale,” ← ai said it, not me.
But I’m sure the smart Duos over at Duolingo already pitched these alternatives with the caveat that none of the above can be done fast and in a hurry. However, short-term tactics over long-term ones will have you fighting for your messaging life. Profits to follow.
It’s the 12 years that made them, but it could be that one year that breaks them.
It’s bad optics—even worse timing. And an unexpected pivot that caught me off guard is all. I was rooting for you, Duolingo!
So, for the employees reading this from a company computer, here’s what you’re up against
Change management battles
I fear that the companies toting ai-first failed to ensure practical application by establishing existing well-oiled systems and processes first—before introducing another tool with no roadmap. They’re underestimating the ramp-up time to see ai ROI, as if employees don’t need to be reskilled or upskilled.
Research shows “employees are not getting the training and support they need. More than a fifth report that they have received minimal to no support.” (McKinsey 2025)
And we haven’t even factored in the workplace politics of senior leaders feeling intimidated by employees who are more ai-versed, taking their jobs. Then, sabotaging the complete rewiring the company now has to undergo. People can be the driver or the blocker to ai adoption.
Speed vs safety dilemmas
“Data security, hallucinations, biased outputs, and misuse (for example, creating harmful content or enabling fraud) are challenges that cannot be ignored. Employees are well aware of AI’s safety challenges. Their top concerns are cybersecurity, privacy, and accuracy.” (McKinsey 2025)
Yes, those who are ai-first will indeed produce more and faster. As for quality, that's questionable, but we’ll tackle that on a LinkedIn post. The real threat for CEOs, especially established brands like Duolingo, is handing over the playbook for Duolingfauxs.
Slapping ai-first on your brand is like wearing a generic sign on your forehead—you're just advertising your codependency on tech you don’t control.
Startups get the edge here because they truly can move fast with no bureaucracy as a barrier. No disgruntled or underskilled employee can sabotage their growth. CEOs will have a new challenge unlocked: copyright infringement on intellectual property (IP). It only takes one employee to abandon safety & privacy protocols, and they’ve engraved the company’s tombstone.
Sure, “produce faster,” but while enterprises are tangoing with these speed bumps, startups can now copy & paste their entire business model with a single prompt (from all the data input). And by the time they’ve realized it, a hundred more competitors startups have popped up.
Meta marketing?
Can we hate Meta anymore?!
Apparently, I can, and the whole marketing community betta be behind me when Ryan Coogler says: “The moment some s*** becomes a business, somebody’s getting f***ed.”
And it’s the advertising world.
Zuckerberg’s plan:
“...we’re going to get to a point where you’re a business, you come to us, you tell us what your objective is, you connect to your bank account, you don’t need any creative, you don’t need any targeting demographic, you don’t need any measurement, except to be able to read the results that we spit out. I think that’s going to be huge, I think it is a redefinition of the category of advertising.” (Source: The Verge)
Any professional willing to throw their brand to the mercy of “connect us to your bank account and read the results we spit out,” deserves the results they get. Because this is your Hail Mary.
Meta wants your business data to be compromised and companies fearful of falling behind, so they hand over their bank account without a fight.
And the first to leap at the chance will be scammers. I repeat. Will be scammers. “Infinite creative,” is a scam artist's dream! They’ll probably get some unsuspecting suckers, get rich then create a course.
We won’t see any award-winning campaigns, tear-jerker ads or meaningful moments here. Just ai-generated slop that makes Zuckerberg filthy richer.
Hip hip hooray!
Because people really don’t care about creative newness or nostalgia, they care about convenience. And if they can get whatever you’re selling faster and at a lower cost than the competitor—they’re buying.
But at what cost!?
It’s a heavy penalty if consumers don’t refrain from falling for the okie doke. It’s a vicious cycle that, if entered, job loss follows shortly after. Because it confirms we don’t need a human here. And yet, we still need people to buy these products…but with what money?!
It’s another group project we’ll likely fail.
Narrator: Ok, so what’s the moral of the story, Tennile? It’s getting dark.
We need to be as ready-like, ai.
Colonizing has upgraded to code. It’s cultural erasure coding.
“It’s when machine intelligence, built on biased data and optimized for scale, starts to replace, dilute, or flatten human systems—especially the ones that were already marginalized or inconvenient to capitalism.” —ai
There are no royalties to the artists—LLMs were built on to generate those viral action-pack figurine graphics. No citations to the writers before us and scholars of today who contributed to the Internet library. And no credit to the cultures that birthed languages, slang, and AAVE. With Duolingo’s firing of translator contractors, you get the “learning,” but no lineage.
And big tech owns it all.
So before we turn into property. And our identity goes on sale. We can stop handing it over willingly.
How to “future-proof” your career?
Learn ai’s limitations
And that means play around with the tool. Try it and break things, as they say in coding. You only fear shadows in the dark.
Here’s what it lacks:
Emotional depth (therapy, negotiation, leadership)
Cultural fluency (branding, storytelling, DEI work)
Creative originality (conceptual thinking, innovation, satire)
Contextual judgment (strategy, ethics, crisis response)
Become a category of one
Otherwise known as personal branding, cringe or weird. That little piece of real estate on your LinkedIn headline begs you to carve out what you want to be known for.
Get up to speed on tech
Learn how to improve your workflows, stack your skills and reduce inefficiencies. Tools like Zapier, Notion, chatgpt, Descript, Midjourney, etc. Get in the weeds and see what all the hoopla is about. Stay curious, not intimidated.
Be undeniable
It’s not enough to be skilled and an expert. You need to be able to tell that story in visibility and receipts. Your business acumen needs to be just as good as your talent. And that includes diversifying your income. Otherwise, you’re replaceable by you know who.
We're walking right into a future where YOU are optional in a company—and that’s what ai is truly coming for.
In the words of the Player’s Club, “Make the money. Don’t let it make you.” - Diamond
👋🏾 Soooo…collective illusion is public enemy number one—Don’t Believe The Hype. Every so often, we’ll say the quiet parts out loud (in your inbox). So we can cancel or co-sign marketing or market trends and discern pop culture gems from flops together. And start making sense of the nonsense online.