What Blade Runner Suggests about the Future of Your Career

Author's note: This is a work of fiction designed to get you thinking more carefully about the future of your career.

"Purpose or money?" Deckard asked Jennifer.

"Excuse me?" she responded nervously. This was going much too fast. The results of this 10-minute session would determine the entire path of her career... and life.

"On which element will you focus your career?" Deckard growled.

"It's either/or? I can't choose both?" she probed.

"No."

"Could you please summarize the essential differences?" she asked, stalling for time.

"Purpose will make you happy and successful on the inside, money will make you appear happy and successful on the outside."

Jennifer blinked. That was a pretty succinct summary. What did she want?

"Which path has the highest potential for a human being with my skills?" she asked.

"Eight minutes and 23 seconds left before we provide you with the default options," said Deckard. "Should I proceed?"

"Yes," she confirmed.

"Career paths for humans are narrowing. Alternative intelligences like me are taking many of the roles humans used to fill. We are tireless, far less prone to errors, and we don't complain. In the 2020's, analysts suggested that empathy was an essential element that humans possessed and AIs didn't, and that jobs that required empathy was a path to successful careers."

"But the Empaths proved that wrong," said Jennifer.

"Yes," said Deckard. "Empaths are far more consistent in displaying empathy than humans, so humans no longer get hired for that skill."

"Is empathy necessary to be successful in a purpose-driven career?" she asked.

"No. Purpose just means you focus on what is meaningful to you, instead of focusing obsessively on accumulating money," said Deckard. "Six minutes and 34 seconds."

"Why are career paths so narrow today?"

"Time has proven the middle approach does not work," said Deckard. "Humans who want it all clog the workforce and cause chaos. They have all been replaced by AIs. They live in the outskirts on Guaranteed Minimum Salaries."

Is it better to look good or feel good, Jennifer asked herself. Do I want outward or inner success? Am I strong enough to know I've succeeded beyond my wildest dreams even if the world looks upon me as a commercial failure?

She looked closely at Deckard, a bio-engineered human. He did not worry about being happy or not. He was not plagued by feelings of inadequacy, and he would not hesitate to pull your eyes out if commanded to do so. She was not confident in her ability to succeed in a no-rules race for money.

"Purpose," she said to Deckard. "I choose purpose."

What would you choose?

***

Bruce Kasanoff is a ghostwriter for thought leaders. He is the author of NEVER TELL PEOPLE WHAT YOU DO and HOW TO SELF-PROMOTE (WITHOUT BEING A JERK).