It's a wrap
The other day I was helping a client with a Shopify site. She wanted the layout in a particular way and provided mockups, but as I was setting it up, I realized her mockup didn't match any of the available layouts. That meant I would have to custom build one, which would take twice as long and cost twice as much than what she was willing to pay (I had worked with her before and knew her budget).
So I thought, "Hmm, how can I make this as quickly and cheaply as possible?" While in the Site Editor, I noticed there was a new "AI" button I had been avoiding. I clicked on it and it said, "Describe the section and we'll generate the code for you." I thought, "Ugh, there's no way this is going to look good, but at least I won't be starting from scratch." So I typed in a prompt and waited a bit for the code to generate.
Y'all.
The section looked perfect. It looked exactly how I wanted it and I didn't have to do anything to it besides upload the lady's images. The client was happy, the project got finished, but after it was all over I had a horrible epiphany: what the fuck am I doing?
I remember teaching myself Liquid four years ago specifically to attract more Shopify clients, and now I don't even need to touch Liquid? So, what am I doing? What purpose do I serve? And don't ask me to lean into SEO or optimization cause I hate both, and AI can probably do those better, too.
This conversation has been popping up a lot on r/webdesign and other parts of the Internet, and the conclusion everyone comes to is: "We'll always need designers." I agree with that too, but I didn't go to school for graphic design or web development (my background is in journalism, laughably). I'm guilty of being a Jill-of-all-trades and a master of nothing. But I've always been a creative, a writer, and an "Internet person," and when I found out people would pay me to do things I tinkered around with in my spare time, it felt like hitting the jackpot. But is the gravy train over?
I think this is the part where I take a deep breath and have a bit of gratitude. My entire corporate career I've worked jobs that didn't exist 20 years ago: writing for websites, producing for websites, designing websites, creating content for a brand's social media page, etc. Technology is always changing, and industries are destroyed and created all the time. Instead of whining and clinging to the past, I have to figure out what the new normal will be and adapt to that.
I'm predicting more communication-focused jobs where being available face-to-face will be essential. Basically, the client will go on and on about some AI crap they generated, and my job would be to fix and assemble the mess they created, while giving them a piece of human insight and interaction. It's not ideal as I don't like talking on the phone, but human interaction is something AI can't replicate.
Also, I think I'm going to get back into freelance editing. I dropped it when the business took off, but I think I need to go back to diversifying my income. Unfortunately, not even the media world is the same. Jobs that six years ago used to go for $40/hr are now only $20/hr. And these are not junior-level writing jobs, these are editing jobs where you're assigning and leading a small team - for only $20/hour! At that rate, the job is undercutting you, so you almost have to use AI to undercut them back. At that point, you're trapped in an exploitative loop. How do you break out of that? The rates will just continue to drop.
I hate these doom-and-gloom type posts, but I have to accept that the landscape is changing and figure out a way to adapt. If I use AI to expedite my production, then I can take on more projects. Is that what we're heading towards? Honestly...I'm kind of over it. I'm so done with "sitting at my desk all day staring at a laptop and hating myself" work. I'd love to do something else, something that helps people, something that feels purposeful.
But whatever. We'll see what the future holds.