We're not post-industrial. We're re-industrializing

We’re not post-industrial. We’re re-industrializing, with AI as the new steam engine.

Everyone’s talking about AI like it’s just another tool. I’m starting to believe it’s something deeper, and foundational.

AI isn’t just changing how we work, rather it’s overhauling work. More than that, it’s collapsing labor across the board:
White-collar. Blue-collar. Design, ops, dev, legal, finance, strategy - none of it is untouched.

While most scramble to “upskill,” “reskill,” and AI-enable their current role… I’ve been thinking about a different kind of leverage, because honestly? We’re not going to outrun AI.

In a world where AI eats jobs, it seems to me the most defensible position is to own the one system it can’t replace:
Human desire → Product → Trust → Satisfaction → Repeat behavior.

The human desires and the rituals that come with (and from) it.
That’s the loop and the new system.

We’re not in a post-industrial world. Instead, we’re entering a new industrial age that’s:

• Powered by models, not machines
• Run on APIs instead of assembly lines
• Grounded in demand, not legacy

So an industrial age with more 0s and 1s.

I believe the real opportunity isn’t in climbing disrupted ladders. It’s in building new ones that focus are:

• Small, agile systems
• Brand-led, not labor-bound
• Enhanced by AI, but grounded in human need
• Systems for sovereignty

Call it post-AI industrialism.
Not just bits. Not just atoms. But the fusion of both the digital and the physical.

In other words: AI-augmented production grounded in real, human demand.

I’m curious to see if others feel this way too - let me know what you think!