Author:intern
Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow
Deep Tide's Introduction:
While most people are still debating whether AI will replace jobs, Silicon Valley's tech elites have already begun restructuring their entire life plans.
This article originates from the in-depth reflections of X platform blogger intern, who proposes a radical hypothesis: if the exponential growth of AI renders the world completely unrecognizable in 10 years, are our current financial, health, and career decisions all wrong?
From stopping pension contributions to cashing out future cash flows early, from abandoning long-term health management to reshaping social circles, these 21 suggestions are not only a survival guide but also a "dimensional reduction strike" on the traditional linear view of life.
Full text as follows:
Imagine if the world becomes completely unrecognizable 10 years from now.
Starting today, what changes would you make?
Most of my friends in the tech industry are well aware of how fast AI is accelerating. For those who have been paying attention, this acceleration became evident years ago, but over the past year, the probability of a truly world-changing "big bang" happening soon has significantly increased.
Now, this awareness is beginning to spread beyond the tech circle (i.e., ordinary people).
The world 5 years from now will be vastly different. In 10 years, it may become completely unrecognizable.
Once you internalize this, a natural question arises:
"So... what should I do now?"
If you fundamentally change your view of the future, it is only logical to change your behavior in the present.
I have been thinking about this question for years, and over the past few months, I have written various versions of these thoughts to friends and family who asked me this question. I decided to compile my views and conclusions into a list.
Here are the specifics:
Investments
- Invest directly in the proliferation of AI: (e.g., Tesla, Nvidia, Palantir, Google, and if you have access, Anthropic and OpenAI).
- Invest in industries with exponential growth related to AI: Robotics, Biotech, Crypto, Space.
- Invest in supply chains: Computing power, energy, raw materials.
- If you are under 50, stop contributing to 401k or Roth IRA (Note: U.S. individual retirement accounts): Avoid locking capital into 30-40-year retirement tools. These tools rely on a predictable world and have a positive expected value (+EV) over long periods, but if you need to withdraw early, their expected value becomes negative. Prioritize liquidity over tax optimization spanning decades. By the time these accounts mature, they will likely have become meaningless.
General Finance
- Cash out future cash flows as early as possible: In general, you should take on debt that requires repayment in the future in exchange for cash today.
- Lock in fixed-rate debt whenever possible.
- Example: Do not pay off student loans faster than required; apply for long-term mortgages. Overall, treat debt 10 years from now as something that may "not exist" and act rationally based on that.
- Avoid annuities and long-term financial products that rely on stability.
- Reduce reliance on institutions that assume "slow/linear change."
Career and Skills
- Prepare for deep automation of most mental and physical labor within 5 years.
- Do not pursue law school, medical school, or other extremely long-cycle training programs now for financial ROI.
- Position yourself extremely close to AI systems: Whether as a developer or a super user.
- Build distribution capabilities (audience, leverage, brand): Instead of collecting various certificates and credentials.
- Work in places where you can closely observe exponential changes.
Life and Time Planning
- Stop planning your life on a 30-40 year time horizon.
Here are some practical examples:
- Do not focus your 20s and 30s on "quality of life after retirement."
- Do not overly obsess about long-term longevity optimization: You do not need to worry about the long-term effects of cancer, aging, high blood pressure, or anything that will "come due" only a decade later. Essentially, the "future health debt" associated with nicotine, sun exposure, alcohol, smoking, or most long-term unhealthy habits may never come due (Note: implying technology will solve these problems or the world will have drastically changed).
- Learn to get comfortable with outdated plans.
- Buy a house near family as soon as possible: You may want to own land and be with those closest to you. This doesn’t change much for most people’s plans, but it’s best to do it early.
- Generally, do not plan beyond 5-10 years: The world will be so different that planning will likely be meaningless.
- Complete your "bucket list": Do the things you’ve always wanted to do now.
If the world is accelerating exponentially, your current actions should reflect this—it’s merely an update to your assumptions.
