As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, I'm reminded that my livelihoods, both as a voice actor and as a writer for my day job, lie at the heart of the industries that AI threatens to transform.

So, am I afraid that I'll lose either one of these jobs anytime soon?

Not really, but that's not because I'm in denial – it's quite the opposite.

What I'm doing is proactively learning as much about AI as possible so that as it evolves and the threat to my careers grows, I'll understand its strengths and weaknesses, and hopefully, find ways to use it to my advantage.

My goals for both professions are to leverage my genuinely human talents so that AI remains a tool, not a career death knell.

Many of my VO and writer friends are vehemently opposing AI in general.

There is a very real fear of losing income and, perhaps even more importantly, that the appreciation for our talents will be overshadowed by this threat.

Like them, I fully support maintaining the arts, audiobook narration, and all voice over work as human endeavors. I stand with my fellow audiobook narrators on the front lines of the 'human voice only' movement.

However, I don't despise AI, nor do I believe that opposing it is a productive use of my time. To me, that's like standing on my porch and yelling at the rain to stop instead of going to the hardware store to buy materials to fix my roof.

I'm investing my time in learning about AI so that when it does come knocking, I'll be prepared... because it's already approaching my doorstep. 

AI, in general terms, is a highly disruptive technology. It's already changing the way businesses strategize with their SEO and Google advertising campaigns.

It's disrupting the art world, and in fact, there aren't many "knowledge sector" jobs that aren't being impacted. Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Andrew Ng, and numerous other AI experts all concur that AI has the potential to displace millions of jobs in the next several years.

It will create jobs too, but there's one thing for sure – if your income relies on a talent that can be replaced by AI in the next few years and you choose to fight against it, then that's your decision.

Alternatively, you could learn how to work with it and educate yourself on its capabilities and, even more crucially, its limitations.

Discover what you can do that AI cannot and use that specific knowledge to hone your skills in that direction, then combine that with utilizing AI to assist you in your voice acting career. (Part 2 of this series will examine this topic in more detail.)

Many people now predict that AI will be incorporated into more everyday apps than we had imagined, and that it will happen much sooner than anticipated.

The hosts of the "All In" podcast with Chamath Palihapitiya predict that in the very near future, AI will become a consumer surplus technology, meaning that it will be ubiquitous and added to anything possible to enhance its value and promote sales.

To give you an idea of how rapidly AI is advancing, that podcast episode aired recently, and AI has already achieved what they predicted.

At 57 years old, I want to continue narrating audiobooks until I'm no longer physically or mentally capable. My dad, who's 97, has a slightly hoarse voice but remains sharp as a tack. I'd wager that he could narrate a book given the right conditions and enough time.

While I don't reasonably expect to live as long as he has, it's conceivable that I may have 30 more years of narration ahead of me.

How many years do you think we have until we look back and say, "Remember when people actually sat in a booth for days to narrate books and do voice overs?"

I don't know either, but I'm proud to be one of those people – even if I'm part of the last generation to do so. Let's hope that's not the case.

Educate yourself on AI's trajectory and strive to be the best voice over talent, writer, or artist you can be.

Learn what AI can and can't do now, as well as what capabilities are predicted in the near future.

Engage in activities AI can't perform - build connections with authors, publishers, VO clients, and patrons that forge bonds of confidence, reassuring them that you're the right human for the jobs they offer.

Harness the power of AI to enhance the value of your business.

The future is here, my friends. Are you ready for it?