We're adding billions of workers to the economy... each quarter

TL;DR

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To do’s:

• Click around and discover lot’s of interesting metrics you could or should start to track

What does it mean to truly use an LLM? At what point does a tool transform into an assistant? And when should we classify certain AI assistants as legitimate co-workers—even if they operate part-time, fractionally, or intermittently? How do we even begin to track such arrangements?

These questions cascade into broader economic implications: What are the short- and long-term consequences of integrating countless “digital workers” into our economy? How do we measure their output? What growth rates should we reasonably expect? How many digital assistants are already operational today? Which types are proving most valuable and actively reshaping our work patterns? On average, perhaps by industry, how many partial digital workers are deployed daily per company or employee? What is their environmental cost in CO2 emissions? Can we forecast future usage patterns? Should we introduce an “agentic growth” category to labor reports and GDP calculations?

So many questions that my head begins to spin. I’m not even certain these are the right questions to ask. But I want to open your mind to two crucial realities: first, this transformation is already happening at a tremendous pace; second, any meaningful analysis of labor reports or economic indicators should account for this emerging component of our economy.

The Drive to Create

At its essence, we work because we desire something that doesn’t yet exist—something requiring effort to obtain. Work naturally divides itself into disciplinary domains (not coincidentally, we speak of “discipline” in this context: you must stick to it). This specialization inspires some to become thinkers, others doers, some risk-takers, others cautious planners, some listeners, and so forth. We become workers oriented toward goals, toward outputs that we individually or collectively agree add value to our broader life and societal objectives.

Fast-forward through countless discoveries, successes, inventions, and celebrations—we remain driven by precisely the same primordial motivation: creating output that delivers added value in service of our cosmo-logical goals. We are infused with motivation, from the Latin movere, meaning “to move.” We cannot sit still; we simply cannot. Some of us celebrate those who dedicate their lives to stillness, while others hold such inaction in contempt: “It doesn’t make SENSE”—as in, it lacks direction, movement toward something meaningful.

The Inevitable Integration

What does this have to do with AI workforces, digital companions, and making new “frAInds”? It reveals that adding more digital workers isn’t really a matter for debate—it’s an inevitability, and it’s happening rapidly. If these digital workers deliver on the same promise we make to ourselves when we set things in motion—to help us, augment us, and yes, sometimes replace us—then perhaps that’s perfectly acceptable.

We’ve traveled this path many times before. Throughout history, we’ve invested our time and effort to build things that could build things for us, transport us faster toward our destinations, and reduce the time needed to complete tasks we’ve deemed necessary for advancing our cosmological goals.

Currently, both individually and professionally, we’re discovering how to make AI work for us. The rapid proliferation of AI tools and assistant software, along with their widespread adoption—despite skeptical perspectives—demonstrates their ability to add value to our cosmological pursuits. Or at least, we believe this to be true. And because we believe it, we will continue striving to make it work.