TED Business AI is coming for your job. Now what? | Vlad Tenev
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Mar 23, 2026 Vlad Tenev, technologist and fintech entrepreneur who founded companies focused on math-driven AI, discusses AI-driven job disruption versus past tech shifts. He explores how rapid AI change changes the game. He introduces the idea of a 'job singularity' where new job families and entrepreneurial roles emerge. He highlights the role of human creativity in navigating uncertain work futures.
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From Math PhD To Tech Founder During 2008
- Vlad Tenev describes graduating Stanford in pure mathematics and starting a PhD at UCLA just as the 2008 financial crisis hit.
- He discovered the iPhone SDK that year, learned overnight, and pivoted toward building products and companies informed by that opportunity.
Job Disruption Is A Recurring Feature Of Progress
- Job disruption has recurred throughout human history from Paleolithic hunters to Neolithic farmers to industrial workers.
- Vlad argues that disappearance of old jobs spurs specialization and new occupations, making disruption an essential feature of progress.
Family Story Shows Rapid Occupational Change
- Tenev shares his family's multigenerational shift from Bulgarian farming to urban professions.
- He recounts his great-grandfather seeing an automobile and calling it a dragon, showing rapid cultural and occupational change.