Is my career safe from AI? We're all thinking it.

A winemaker's future isn't as simple as "a robot will take my job."

I'll benefit from the first wave of automation through better software tools for marketing and production. When I zoom out, I see robots working my vineyard, trained more precisely than any human.

A robot can't make good wine though, right?

Most wine, especially in the USA, is ready for robotic production. Massive wine operations focus on reproducible, consistent, and formulaic results. This doesn't create interesting wine, but it's big business.

Winemaking is a balance between art and science. A robot will definitely be able to complete the science based tasks, but the question remains: Can AI do art?

There's this concept of "wu" from The Man in the High Castle - this soul-connection between maker and creation. You notice it when AI images lack that certain something that gives it soul or makes it feel real.

AI will get better and better at replicating soul. The masses won't care, they already don't, and will appreciate cheaper wine.

My career future rests on whether people care enough to spend the extra money for wine with soul produced by a human.