In this essay, Zach Smith, the founder of Nova AI, discusses his journey from being a college dropout to a Google engineer and eventually launching his own AI startup. Smith emphasizes the importance of staying relevant in the age of AI and believes that certain tech roles will be replaced by automation while others will shift towards more creative tasks. He highlights how AI will impact functions such as quality assurance engineering, technical documentation, and code maintenance, while also creating new job opportunities in data science, machine learning engineering, and AI ethics and design. 

Key points: 

1. The path to a career in software development can involve self-education, formal schooling, and gaining practical experience through job opportunities.

2. Staying relevant in the age of AI is crucial for tech professionals, as automation will replace certain repetitive tasks in roles such as quality assurance engineering and technical documentation.

3. However, Smith believes that AI will not completely replace humans but rather shift their roles towards more creative tasks.

4. AI automation will also create new job opportunities in areas such as data science, machine learning engineering, and AI ethics and design.

5. Despite concerns about job displacement, Smith emphasizes that humans possess unique creativity that AI cannot replicate, and the future of jobs will involve a combination of human skills and AI technologies.

Read more at: https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-googler-ai-startup-founder-tech-skills-ai-will-create-replace-2023-6