You remember February 2020? That time we were all living life comfortably, eating nyama choma without a care in the world. Then boom! A small flu from the East decided to shut down the globe.
Suddenly, buying toilet paper became more important than paying tithe. If you saw a man sneezing in a matatu, you would look at him like he was a suicide bomber and remember we were washing hands until our fingerprints disappeared! We thought that was the apocalypse. Wueh!
My friend, sit down. Let me tell you something for free. That was just the trailer but the main movie is here, and unlike the virus, you cannot wear a mask to hide from this one.
We are currently in that dangerous phase called “ignorance is bliss.” We are like a goat chewing cud happily outside the slaughterhouse, thinking the butcher is just sharpening his knife to cut vegetables.
You see? We are ignoring the signs. There is an essay by a man called Matt Shumer (let’s call him the John the Baptist of silicon chips). He shouted from the wilderness of the internet, and millions of people saw it. But did they listen? No. They are busy debating whether the President’s kaunda suit fits or not.
When The Intern Became The Boss
Let me break it down for you in a language you can understand. We used to treat AI like that intern who you send to print photocopies. You ask them to write for you an email. They write a rubbish email. You laugh, feel secure and then feel like a big man.
But Shumer is saying something that made my stomach turn into a cement mixer. He is saying the intern has grown up.
The intern is no longer just “autocompleting” your sentences. The intern is now capable of doing your entire job while you are stuck in traffic on Thika Road.
The Reality: “He claims he can describe outcomes in plain English and get finished work back. Work he used to do himself.”
It is not taking your job because it hates you. It is taking your job because you are slow, you complain about the weather, and you need tea breaks at 10 AM and 4 PM. The machine does not drink tea. It does not have a Daughter of Jezebel stressing it at home. It just works.
“If my job happens mostly on a screen… how much of it is just tasks?”
That framing is what you should ask yourself and understand pretty much most of it will be taken over within a year or two from today.
The Time Horizon
There is a group of big-brain researchers called METR. They deal with facts by measuring something called a “Time Horizon.”
Basically, they check: How long can this digital demon work on a task without messing up?
Two years ago, the AI was like a toddler. You leave it alone for two minutes, it eats glue. Now? The data shows the capability is doubling every 7 months.
Do the math. If your salary is not doubling every 7 months, you are the one losing the race.
Jobs don’t pay you to answer trivia questions like “Who is the first president of Kenya?” (Even the AI knows it’s Jomo, unlike some Gen Zs I know). Jobs pay you to finish things.
- A report.
- A proposal to steal… Sorry, I mean, secure… a tender.
- A budget that hides the fact that you spent the petty cash on Guarana. Yes, I see you!
We Have Reached A Point Where AI Is Training AI (it happens so first with minimal errors)
Now, hold your rosary tight, because this part sounds like witchcraft.
On February 5, 2026, those people at OpenAI announced GPT-5.3-Codex. And they dropped a line that made me want to go back to the village and farm arrowroots.
The Revelation: “The GPT-5.3-Codex model was instrumental in creating itself.”
Omonguru! Did you hear that? The machine helped to build the next machine. It is like a cow milking itself, pasteurizing the milk, and packaging it without the farmer.
This is what Dario Amodei (another big brain) calls the “adolescence” of technology. It is that awkward stage where the child is stronger than the parent, but still clumsy enough to burn the house down.
Imagine a country of geniuses who never sleep, never ask for a salary increment, and never get tired. That is what is coming. And here you are, worried about whether your crush viewed your WhatsApp status. My friend, wake up!
Don’t Be a Fool, But Don’t Be a Coward Either
There is a man called Gary Marcus. He is the doubting Thomas. He says, “Relax, these things are hyped. They can’t replace human touch.”
And he has a point.
Don’t fall into the following 2 Traps:
- Trap A: You say “Ah, this is just hype. It will pass like the BBI.”
Wrong. The wave will sweep you. - Trap B: You say “It’s over. I am useless.”
Wrong. You can plan your retirement plan during the transition period which might take 5-20 years from now.
The smart move is to walk in the middle. Be suspicious enough to prepare, but confident enough to navigate seamlessly with the changes.
How To Adapt (A 7-Day Plan)
Listen to me carefully. If you want to survive in this concrete jungle while the robots take over, you need to stop being a “user” and become a “master.” Here is the syllabus for the week.
Day 1: Identify that one task you hate. You know the one. That report you write every Friday that makes you wish Jesus would come back immediately? Yes, that one.
Day 2: Don’t ask AI bland questions like “How are you?” It doesn’t have feelings! It doesn’t care! Give it the whole job. Paste the context. Tell it: “Act like a Senior Manager who is tired of incompetence.”
Day 3: Ask it: “Why did you say that? What are your assumptions?” Interrogate it like a Kenyan wife who found a receipt for two coffees in your pocket. Make it sweat (digitally).
Day 4: Verify everything. If it gives you numbers, calculate them again. Trust, but verify especially if you are in a serious job.
Day 5: Create a Template Once you get a good prompt, save it. That is your weapon.
Day 6: Show the Receipt Take the work to your boss. “Boss, this usually takes me 4 hours. Today it took 45 minutes.” (Don’t tell him you spent the other 3 hours watching TikToks of people dancing to Anguka Nayo).
Take-away
You have two choices:
- Ignore it, and in two years, you will be the one explaining to your children why you are broke.
- Learn it now. Become the person who controls the button.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you. The train has left the station. You are either on board, or you are tied to the tracks.
But then again, knowing you people, you will just use it to write better breakup texts to your three sneakylinks. Nkt! Humans never learn.