[me_me_me]

> Technology has been displacing jobs for decades. Life is about learning and adapting. As long as you commit to adapting quickly, learning new skills as necessary and being open to different types of jobs, you should be fine.

That seems to be a contradiction of your story. Your dad was lucky to be able to retire. He did not adapt. He had to quit and he got low end job.

Its easy to say adapt re-skill, innovate but to a lot of people it might not be an option.

[cj]

Yea my dad isn't the best example. He had a business partner that was refusing to buy the expensive scanners and 3d printers because the business partner didn't want to make the investment in new technology. They stayed old school and went out of business.

It's probably more of an example of how not to handle this sort of situation. Instead of being afraid of or avoiding the technology coming for your job, embrace it and figure out how to thrive with/alongside it.

[sitkack]

My dentist does this in-house now using machines they own.

[iJohnDoe]

I think there are some good takeaways or lessons from this situation.

My first takeaway is if the dentists didn’t give the Dad an opportunity to compete on price and went straight to China. One day you’re getting orders and the next day you are not. Tough situation. A pivot would need to be done quickly. Once the dad caught wind of the China situation, maybe he could outsource his stuff to China as well and lower his prices. Is there any margin left though?

Same thing with GPT. One day you’re getting contracts for work and the next day you’re not. You later find out they are using GPT.

One day people are picking cotton and the next day a machine is doing it.

The OP‘s concern is real. One good aspect is that everyone is aware GPT is here. The time is now to pivot or adapt. Those that wait to find out what will happen are usually at a disadvantage to those that act more quickly.