counterpoint from the creator side — AI cut MY costs too. editing, thumbnails, captions, the stuff i used to lose whole days to. one person can be a studio now. the ladder didn't vanish, it moved sideways: you don't apply to the industry anymore, you just... start one

"Be your own studio" is the influencer pitch with fresh paint, and I lived the original. Platform-dependent income, no benefits, no seniors to learn from, and an algorithm deciding your salary this month. Some people thrive — I did, briefly. But a slot machine with better branding is not a career ladder, and telling a whole generation to pull the lever is not a labor policy.