AI isn't the first time we thought "Math" would replace "Minds." In 1979, a new technology arrived that could do a week's worth of human work in 4 seconds. Experts panicked.

The technology was the Electronic Spreadsheet (VisiCalc). The profession was Accounting.

The Era of Manual Calculation

Before this, accounting was physical. It was pencils, ledgers, and hours of manual calculation. If you changed one number, you had to erase and recalculate everything.

When VisiCalc launched, it felt like magic (or AI). It automated the core skill of the job. The logic was simple: If software does the math, we don't need the mathematicians.

The Paradox of Automation

But a funny thing happened. In the decade after the spreadsheet launched, the number of accountants didn't crash. It doubled.

The spreadsheet didn't replace the accountant; it replaced the drudgery. Because "calculation" became cheap, the demand for it skyrocketed.

💡 Tip: Companies stopped asking accountants to "just balance the books" and started asking them to "model 50 different financial scenarios."

The job shifted from Math (low value) to Strategy (high value).

History Repeating Itself

We are seeing the exact same pattern today with Generative AI. We fear it will replace Coders, Writers, and Designers. But history suggests it will simply replace the "calculation" parts of those jobs—the syntax, the boilerplate, the drafts—freeing us up to do the "strategy."

The tool changes. The human element just moves up the value chain.

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