In 2026, the wave of layoffs among major companies intertwines with traditional industries, and the efficiency dividends are accompanied by structural anxieties that have nowhere to go.

As the wave of AI sweeps across various industries, what real changes have occurred in the ecological environment of workers?

With these questions in mind, TinTinLand deeply interviewed seven professionals spanning Web3, bulk chemical trade, digital agriculture, smart manufacturing, and traditional wholesale industries, exploring topics related to skill equity, job reduction, efficiency competition, and the life-and-death propositions of human moats.

This is not an article that promotes anxiety. We only want to document the real changes and thoughts from everyone in this wave of AI.

Is it chasing the trend, or passively getting involved?

Q1: What opportunities did everyone have to contact AI? Why do you want to learn AI?

🔹 Odinsphere (Web3 CEX Contract Developer)

My first systematic exposure to AI was after tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Codex, and Claude Code began to enter real development processes.

AI is no longer just a chat tool; it can assist in reading code, organizing requirements, analyzing problems, generating solutions, and even participating in some architectural design. Therefore, I need to understand it as soon as possible and turn it into my productivity tool, rather than waiting for it to become external pressure.

🔹 Smith (Blockchain Developer)

At that time, the team disbanded, and I had to look for the next development opportunity.

AI has significantly increased productivity, and the impact on programmers is immense, especially as the wave of layoffs in 2025-2026 has become very obvious.

🔹 Ethan Lu (Bulk Chemical Trade Industry, Full Stack Engineer)

Reducing costs and increasing efficiency, becoming a super individual (slacking off), doing more with less effort.

🔹 Guo (Wholesale Industry/Food Delivery, Deputy Manager of Warehouse Department)

Reducing costs and increasing efficiency, expanding more job opportunities and promotion space. Hope that every link such as warehousing, procurement, and orders can ultimately achieve automation.

Q2: What is the most obvious change AI has brought to your life and work?

🔹 Ethan Lu (Bulk Chemical Trade Industry, Full Stack Engineer)

The way of thinking has completely changed. In the past, when faced with technical difficulties, I would look at blogs or buy books; now I directly ask AI when there is a problem, it is quick and accurate, and I learn through AI.

Work has become much easier. With the gradual maturity in AI applications and the continuous iterations of large model underlying capabilities, "vibe coding" is very convenient and greatly reduces the workload.

🔹 Guanzizai (Manufacturing Technician)

The most efficient change is in search and content creation. Previously, using Baidu and Google for searches took a long time; now using AI, it provides a highly summarized output and takes less time.

In the past, writing articles relied entirely on myself; now I come up with ideas and frameworks and let AI write, then I refine and supplement examples, improving efficiency by 50%.

Additionally, learning new knowledge through AI allows mastering 80% of a completely new field in a very short time.

🔹 rejoicelee (Agricultural Digital Industry, CTO)

The most obvious change is how I search for things; technology is no longer an absolute limitation. People with product power and professional ability can more easily create usable things, and "one-person teams" have become possible. The polarization between those who use AI and those who do not is becoming increasingly apparent.

🔹 Guo (Wholesale Industry/Food Delivery, Deputy Manager of Warehouse Department)

It has greatly improved efficiency, expanding a series of optimizable tasks in work, and I understand certain things much faster in life.

Previously low-value time-consuming tasks have been compressed, allowing me to focus my energy on other things.

Q3: What is the greatest help from AI and the potential threats?

🔹 Ethan Lu (Bulk Chemical Trade Industry, Full Stack Developer)

The greatest help is that coding-related problems are easily solved, including architecture level, creative design, code review, automation testing, etc., which almost no longer requires my involvement, making it very intelligent.

The potential threat is increased anxiety... subconsciously feeling that if I fall behind, I will be eliminated.

🔹 rejoicelee (Agricultural Digital Industry, CTO)

The biggest help is breaking through my own capacity limits. The potential threat is feeling that the paths I can take are becoming fewer.

🔹 Guo (Wholesale Industry/Food Delivery, Deputy Manager of Warehouse Department)

The greatest help is reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

The potential threat is standardization replacement. Each iteration makes me feel anxious, with some pessimism about the future, and competition will only get fiercer.

Impact: Skill Restructuring and Job Reshuffling

AI has not only brought a surge in efficiency but has precisely penetrated traditional positions across various tracks, redefining the survival red line.

Q4: What changes has AI brought to your industry?

🔹 Odinsphere (Web3 CEX, Contract Developer)

Development efficiency and job requirements have both been raised substantially.

Previously, backend developers needed to master Java, distributed systems, databases, messaging queues, and stability to be competitive. But now, the Web3 financial trading system itself is very complex, and with the addition of AI tools, companies expect engineers to complete requirements faster, troubleshoot problems quicker, and produce solutions more rapidly.

In the initial phases of AI application, the efficiency gap between individuals and teams will widen rapidly. Those who can integrate AI into their workflows earlier will gain a clear advantage.

🔹 Beijing (Web3 CEX, Operations Compliance)

The pace of change is really too fast. Business that used to require a large team to maintain can now be managed by one person with the integration of AI.

Q5: Have the skills you once took pride in been replaced or are they under threat by AI?

🔹 Beijing (Web3 CEX, Operations Compliance)

I used to mainly be responsible for legal compliance work, but now many legal documents can be completed quickly and at high quality using AI.

🔹 Odinsphere (Web3 CEX, Contract Developer)

I have not yet clearly felt replaced by AI, especially in industries like finance, trading, and Web3, where much practical work still needs to be done manually. Since these systems involve user assets, account rights, various calculations, risk control rules, and online stability, they cannot simply rely on AI for automatic judgment.

AI assists me more in performing basic material organization, preliminary code analysis, solution expansion, and document generation. However, the final business understanding, risk judgment, proofreading and verification, technical decision-making, and accountability for outcomes still need to be handled by engineers themselves.

🔹 Smith (Blockchain Developer)

Specific skills of architects and visual expression of website designers are under strong threat from programming models like Claude and others.

Q6: Which positions in your industry are likely to significantly decrease in the next three years?

🔹 Ethan Lu (Bulk Chemical Trade Industry, Full Stack Engineer)

Positions such as secretaries, financial personnel, recruitment specialists, customer service, group performers, practitioners in the software industry, and the art industry may face significant reductions.

🔹 Guanzizai (Manufacturing Technician)

The impact is most evident on positions like secretaries, financial personnel, salespersons, and recruitment specialists.

🔹 rejoicelee (Agricultural Digital Industry, CTO)

I believe it’s about "industry-wide equity." AI has leveled the boundary between novices and experts, so it's not about which positions will be reduced, but rather that all positions in the entire industry will be affected.

AI is an amplifier, not a wish machine; it does not just change a single position but strengthens the strong further, making the weak even weaker.

Competition and Anxiety: The Hidden Concerns Behind Efficiency Dividends

Behind the improvement in productivity, not everyone is enjoying relaxation; the more common reality is that workplace individuals are being pushed by invisible forces toward higher dimensions of competition.

Q7: Has the efficiency competition brought by AI made you feel exhausted or resistant?

🔹 Odinsphere (Web3 CEX, Contract Developer)

I do feel tired, but not because AI has completely replaced me, but because AI has expanded the scope of work. In the past, I might only need to analyze a specific issue, but now AI quickly expands a lot of possibilities, risk points, alternative solutions, and technical paths, all of which require human judgment.

To some extent, AI has not reduced competition but has pushed it to a new level. Besides normal development, I also need to continually learn a whole new set of tools such as AI programming tools, Agents, MCP, local models, automated workflows, and AI IDEs, facing continuous learning pressure.

🔹 Smith (Blockchain Developer)

I do indeed feel out of control. The pressure of societal competition is relative; the overall competitiveness of the industry is increasing, but those who are unwilling to learn will be ruthlessly eliminated. This environment will forcibly drive and motivate oneself to continue growing.

AI is similar to the Industrial Revolution; there will be decades of rapid development, which will inevitably lead to entirely new careers and create new dividends.

Q8: Does your current anxiety mainly stem from income decline or losing a sense of control over your profession?

🔹 Odinsphere (Web3 CEX, Contract Developer)

Currently, salaries have not changed significantly.

A deeper anxiety lies in whether the number of positions and the structure of positions will undergo drastic changes: in the future, will there still be as many developers needed, which foundational positions will be ruthlessly compressed, and whether my current experience can still match the requirements of the next career stage.

🔹 Smith (Blockchain Developer)

During the transition period, my income has indeed declined. However, my current mindset is to adjust expectations, relax, and as long as my income covers my daily expenses, that is sufficient.

I am currently focusing more on finding new income channels and no longer fixating on internal job promotions; finding a direction that can fully unleash my initiative is more important than anything else.

Moat: The Irreplaceability of Humans

When the walls of old skills collapse, workers must confront the "sunk costs" accumulated over many years and find the core human values that AI cannot touch amid the upheaval.

Q8: In facing the skills that AI may replace, how do you digest those sunk costs?

🔹 Odinsphere (Web3 CEX, Contract Developer)

I no longer simply believe AI has replaced my skills; rather, I see it as a new production tool. Because AI quickly expands on a wide breadth, bringing more branches, solutions, and boundary conditions, my tasks of proofreading, filtering, validating, and organizing have become even heavier.

Therefore, what I need to improve is not simply my coding ability, but my ability to judge whether the outputs from AI are reliable and whether they meet business and risk boundaries.

🔹 Smith (Blockchain Developer)

The sunk costs are indeed quite significant; I must coordinate my career and the development roadmap of projects to take the initiative.

The upper limit comes from your perspective; you need to broaden your perspective to capture aesthetics and market demands. I am currently learning ideas through attending more meetings and researching excellent product designs. Focusing on expanding new income channels rather than obsessing over job promotions, but instead developing towards freelancing to enhance risk resistance.

🔹 Beijing (Web3 CEX, Operations Compliance)

The most important thing is to maintain extensive learning and high-frequency usage. In the AI era, the most crucial element is self-reinvention; I choose to actively embrace AI and look for new opportunities for myself.

Q9: Are there any tasks that AI theoretically can perform but still must be completed by humans in practice?

🔹 Guo (Wholesale Industry/Food Delivery, Deputy Manager of Warehouse Department):

In my industry, the order department needs to communicate with clients; client demands are personalized and diverse, so complex problems and the input of special documents must involve human intervention for verification and communication;

The second is judging anomalies in goods and accountability. AI lacks a long-term deep understanding of supplier-specific habits, historical batch quality, and driver behavior patterns. This operational experience only exists in human brains.

🔹 Ethan Lu (Bulk Chemical Trade Industry, Full Stack Engineer):

Polishing of ultra-large projects. AI currently has significant context bottlenecks; once processing ultra-large projects, it faces a fatal "catastrophic forgetting."

🔹 Odinsphere (Web3 CEX, Contract Developer)

In industries like finance, trading, and Web3, what matters most are account models, risk control boundaries, anomaly handling, system stability, and online accountability. AI can assist in generating code and solutions, but the business consequences still need to be borne by humans.

Practical Engagement with Tools and Future Survival Guide

Finally, we focus on the most valuable practical level: what AI tools are everyone using? If AI takes over the basic work entirely, how should one plan for the future?

Q10: Which paid AI tools have you used so far? How was the experience?

🔹 Ethan Lu (Bulk Chemical Trade Industry, Full Stack Engineer):

I have used GPT, Claude Code, Gemini, Kimi, Qwen, GLM, and DeepSeek.

In the realm of coding, Claude Code is absolutely a standout; GPT's ability to trace code bugs is quite good; Gemini tends to excel at frontend work. Domestic models are still quite a distance away.

🔹 Guo (Wholesale/Food Delivery, Deputy Manager of Warehouse Department)

I have paid for GPT, Gemini, and Kimi, and so far have been quite satisfied with all of them. In comparison, GPT’s overall performance in daily use has left me more satisfied.

I heard that many peers find Claude problematic, primarily due to the severe account bans.

🔹 rejoicelee (Agricultural Digital Industry, CTO)

GPT PRO, TRAE, DeepSeek. There is no “most worthy” or “most regrettable”; it's all about whether you know how to use it. Each tool has its own scenario. Of course, if you have plenty of money, you can absolutely go all out on OPUS 4.7.

Q11: If AI completes most basic work in the future, how will you plan your career direction?

🔹 Odinsphere (Web3 CEX, Contract Developer)

I will more clearly position myself as the person in charge of complex systems, rather than just a code executor. Particularly in high-risk industries like financial trading and Web3, what truly matters are account models, risk control boundaries, anomaly handling, system stability, and online ultimate responsibility.

AI can generate solutions in abundance, but the business consequences will always need to be borne by real people. In the future, truly valuable developers are not necessarily the fastest coders or the ones most familiar with tools, but rather those who understand business contexts, system boundaries, risk control, and can effectively drive engineering implementation.

🔹 Smith (Blockchain Developer)

Serving as a technical instructor and building personal IP is currently my main transformation plan. On the other hand, I’ll use AI tools to independently develop products and build websites, leveraging these bridges to connect and serve a broader user base.

I am currently madly working to enhance my capabilities in this area, focusing not solely on delving deeper into technology, but rather on improving my aesthetic sense, product sensitivity, and market demand intuition.

🔹 Beijing (Web3 CEX, Operations Compliance)

Transforming into a super coordinator. Managing a large number of diverse AI agents, with a human responsible for top-level design, issuing commands, and allocating resources to leverage and manage a vast, digitized full product line.

Q12: If all AI tools fail, will it affect your work?

🔹 Guo (Wholesale/Food Delivery, Deputy Manager of Warehouse Department)

Efficiency will slow down, but it won’t be paralyzed. Most of the applications of AI involve additional work that has been self-expanded, so the impact won’t be severe.

🔹 Guanzizai (Manufacturing Technician)

Work will slow down. I currently depend moderately on AI.

🔹 Ethan Lu (Bulk Chemical Trade Industry, Full Stack Engineer)

Welcome to listen to "In the AI Apocalypse, I Survive by Ancient Programming.” I am now heavily reliant on AI.

Conclusion

AI is penetrating every industry with an indiscriminate absolute force at an accelerated pace.

Whether actively embracing or being pushed forward by the times, almost everyone has implicitly accepted: AI is no longer an "optional choice."

The popular saying online, "In the AI era, as long as you learn slowly enough, you won’t have to learn," is ultimately just a joke. In this interview, all seven respondents are trying in their own ways to learn desperately, reposition, and adapt to new competition.

The old professional boundaries are being shattered, but a new value system is also being formed.

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