Raw Content

Article Summary: “When AI Can Do Your Job, Who Else Are You?”

Overview

Danny Aziz, General Manager of Spiral, explores his identity crisis as a software engineer when AI tools like Cursor and Claude Code began automating the technical work that defined his professional identity.

Key Arguments

The Identity Crisis Aziz describes the existential threat when “the technical work that had defined me was suddenly being done by AI tools…without much need for my input.” He initially feared losing his competitive advantage in the job market.

Two Paths Forward The author identified two responses to AI automation:

Coasting: Letting AI handle tasks while disengaging (scrolling social media, watching Netflix)
Going Deeper: Using freed time to explore new skills and perspectives

The Transformation

Aziz chose the second path, deliberately resisting distraction by putting his phone away during work. Through journaling, he discovered his underlying interests lay in user experience and product design rather than pure code.

Shift in Thinking Instead of viewing work through a software engineering lens (“how data moves”), he began thinking like a product maker, asking questions like: “How do I feel after looking at this feature?” and “What experience does this create?”

Core Insight

Rather than accepting AI displacement passively, Aziz reframed the situation as an opportunity for professional evolution—using the time freed by automation to develop complementary skills in product design and user empathy.