My translation company went from profitable to almost nothing in just a few years. I used to do Portuguese to English translations and had a team of 8-12 freelancers working with me. We were making good money, sometimes I worked 80+ hours per week and earned six figures annually from 2006 to 2024. But now the work has dried up because machine learning and AI tools have become incredibly accurate. I’m wondering if other people here have similar experiences where artificial intelligence basically replaced their entire industry. Would love to hear from others who lost their jobs or businesses to automation, maybe we can share stories and support each other through this transition.
This hits way too close to home. I’ve been doing data entry and basic accounting for small businesses since 2015 - had a solid client base built up. Then ChatGPT and AI tools exploded, and now everyone’s using automated stuff for work they used to pay me $25-30/hour for. Lost 70% of my clients this past year alone. I’m learning web development now, but honestly? AI will probably dominate that space soon too. Everything changed so damn fast we couldn’t even adapt properly.
Been through this exact thing with graphic design. Started freelancing in 2010 - logos, brochures, marketing stuff for local businesses. Built steady income over years, then Canva hit and suddenly everyone could do “design.” Now AI cranks out logos and layouts in minutes that used to take me hours. The creative industry got destroyed and most people don’t get it. Clients think good design just happens automatically now. Hardest part? Trying to explain why human creativity matters when AI output looks “good enough” for their budget. I’ve shifted to strategic brand consulting since that needs actual thinking, but AI’s coming for that too. The speed caught us all off guard - went from working with technology to being replaced by it in what felt like months, not years.
I get it completely. Photography hit me the same way around 2018-2020 when smartphone cameras got crazy good and AI started pumping out decent stock photos. I’d run a small commercial photography business for fifteen years - product shots and corporate headshots mostly. Demand just disappeared overnight. Companies figured out they could get decent results with their phones or AI for way less money. What really hurt was longtime clients just stopped calling. I pivoted to video and drone work since those aren’t fully automated yet, but I’m making maybe 40% of what I used to. Hardest part? Accepting that technical skills I spent decades building became worthless so fast. Feels like we’re living through an industrial revolution on steroids.