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Just two years ago, prompt engineering was hailed as a hot new job in tech. Now, it has all but disappeared. At the beginning of the corporate AI boom, some companies sought out large language model (LLM) translatorsprompt engineers who specialized in crafting the most effective questions to ask internal AIs, ensuring optimal and efficient outputs. Today, strong AI prompting is simply an expected skill, not a stand-alone role. Some companies are even using AI to generate the best prompts for their own AI systems. The decline of prompt engineering serves as a cautionary tale for the AI job market. The flashy, niche roles that emerged with ChatGPTs rise may prove to be short-lived. While AI is reshaping roles across industries, it may not be creating entirely new ones. AI is already eating its own, says Malcolm Frank, CEO of TalentGenius. Prompt engineering has become something thats embedded in almost every role, and people know how to do it. Also, now AI can help you write the perfect prompts that you need. Its turned from a job into a task very, very quickly. AI jobs are just jobs now Part of the prompt engineers appeal was its low barrier to entry. The role required little technical expertise, making it an accessible path for those eager to join a booming market. But because the position was so generalized, it was also easily replaced. Frank compares prompt engineering to roles like Excel wizard and PowerPoint expertall valuable skills, but not ones companies typically hire for individually. And prompt engineers may not be the only roles fading away. Frank envisions a world where AI agentsalready taking shapereplace many lower-level tasks. Its almost like Pac-Man just moving along and eating different tasks and different skills, he says. AI has the potential to displace thousands of workers. Its advocates have long argued that it will create as many jobs as it destroys. Prompt engineering once seemed to support that claima brand-new job title born from AI. But that optimism may be misplaced. Rather than inventing entirely new roles, AI is largely reshaping existing ones. Tim Tully wasnt surprised to see prompt engineering decline. As a partner at venture capital firm Menlo Ventures, hes witnessed the AI boom firsthand, especially through the firms investment in Anthropic. He also works closely with software developersa profession already transformed by tools like Cursor. His view is clear: The real impact of AI lies not in boutique job creation, but in widespread productivity gains. I wouldn’t say that [there are] new jobs, necessarily; it’s more so that it’s changing how people work, Tully says. Youre using AI all the time now, whether you like it or not, and its accelerating what you do. Did prompt engineers ever exist? It remains unclear whether companies were ever truly hiring for individually titled prompt engineers. They certainly arent now, says Allison Shrivastava, an economist with the Indeed Hiring Lab. It looks to me like prompt engineering is more being combined with, say, a machine learning engineering title or an automation architect title, Shrivastava tells Fast Company. Its probably a part of more job titles, but Im not necessarily seeing it as a job title in and of itself. But thats always been the caseeven in 2023, when LinkedIn was filled with self-described prompt engineers. Asked whether there was any change over time in the number of prompt engineer job postings, Shrivastava notes that it was never a large enough title to track mathematically. Which raises a larger question: Did prompt engineering roles ever truly exist? All experts interviewed for this piece were skeptical. The market itself was real enough: The North American prompt engineering market was valued at $75.5 million in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 32.8%. But whether that translated into formally titled roles is another matter. I think the discussion online of [prompt engineering] was probably much bigger than the head count, says Aline Lerner, CEO of Interviewing.io. It was such an appealing thing, precisely because it was this on-ramp for nontechnical people into this sexy, lucrative field. Where are the AI jobs, then? Lerner has observed a clear trend. While Interviewing.io has never offered mock interviews specifically for prompt engineering, it has offered them for machine learning engineering. The distinction is important: Prompt engineers focus on crafting questions for LLMs, while machine learning engineers build the models themselves. And while demand for the former has declined, demand for the latter is surging. Demand for mock interviews for machine learning engineers was flat for a while, and then in the last two months, it has hockey-sticked up and grown more than three times, Lerner says. The future is working on the LLM itself and continuing to make it better and better, rather than needing somebody to interpret it. Those easy-access AI jobs may no longer exist. Machine learning engineering roles demand deep technical expertiseskills that take years to develop, unlike the relatively shallow learning curve for prompt engineering. Even basic coding skills are no longer sufficient. Indeeds Shrivastava notes that while demand for developers is declining, engineering roles more broadly are on the rise. For those without a coding background, becoming a founder is often the most lucrativethough riskyroute. Management consulting has also seen a boom. As of February, consulting roles made up 12.4% of AI job titles on Indeed. As time goes on, we might see [AI] in more variety of sectors overall, Shrivastava says. They need someone tasked with really implementing that technology into that company.”
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E-Commerce
Design-minded home goods brand Simplehuman recently released a product that’s a little out of its wheelhousea limited-edition tequila with distillery Nosotros. It may be the company’s first foray into spirits, but the brand already knows how to work with the Weber blue agave that made the tequila. The agave fibers on Simplehumans Soapwell sponge begin their life cycle by being pressed into Nosotros tequila at the companys distillery in Tequila, Mexico. Nosotros then supplies its leftover agave fibers to Simplehuman. The $100 Nosotros x Simplehuman Blanco tequila is made out of that same agave, and was released to mark a year that Simplehuman has been spinning the fibers into sponges. [Photo: Simplehuman] Simplehuman CEO Frank Yang says the company approached the tequila the same way it does any productand notes that the agave-sourcing partnership shows off the “less is more” approach that guides both brands. We’re trying to create cool things that exist in the world that people would miss if we weren’t doing this, Yang says. [Photo: Simplehuman] High proof, high performance The story of how tequila ingredients became a kitchen product isnt too complicated. It starts with Yangs fondness for tequila. While on vacation in Mexico in 2022, he joined a tequila-making class and learned how agave is used to make the spirit. They were telling me how the fiber is really tough, he says, noting that after the juice was extracted, it seemed like they were throwing the [pulp] away. The Simplehuman R&D team was both skeptical and excited. It was a tricky process, working with jimadores (farmers who harvest agave plants in Mexico) to handpick specific fibers amid the gunky pulp. But after about eight months, they realized it was a solution that could help create a soft sponge that could also scrub without scratching pots and pans. High performance is the most important, he says. Besides the agave fibers, the sponge’s differentiator is a round reservoirthe sponges eponymous soap well. [The soap] seeps down to the sponge so it doesn’t just wash away, Yang says. The circular well is positioned to match where soap comes out of a Simplehuman soap dispenser, and also has a hard outer ring that can offer a deeper scrub for stubborn residue. [Photo: Simplehuman] A tequila influenced by terrain Nosotros approaches tequila like wineeach spirit taking on unique characteristics based on the land where its agave grows. The Nosotros x Simplehuman bottle of additive-free Blanco tequila is not made differently than Nosotross other bottles of Blanco, but is a particular vintage. Nosotros cofounder Carlos Soto describes this specific Simplehuman vintage as mineral-forward. A lot of times with our Blanco, we’ve had the highlands carry a lot of itmore fruity notes and that cooked agave sweetness, he says. Hes referring to the Mexican highlands of Arasco, Jalisco, where 50% of the agave for Nosotros tequila comes from. The other 50% comes from the city of Tequila, located in the lowlands of Jalisco, and comes across as more dominant in this vintage. Lowlands usually have a lot more shade. . . . They tend to have soil that is very rich, Soto says. They become a little bit more peppery, more earthy. The approach that Nosotros takes of utilizing these two agaves not only provides a more balanced taste across its line of additive-free products, but also reduces stress on the environment. The farms that we work with are able to rotate crops a little bit more just because we’re only using 50% from each, Soto says. It really protects the soil, which keeps the quality of the agave. The amount of agave required to yield one bottle of tequila produces enough fibers to make more than 2,000 sponges. Giving agave fibers a second life Soto says he thinks of Nosotros as an agave company, and he is always searching for ways to utilize agave fibers. Even before the Simplehuman partnership, Nosotros used fibers to create the labels on all of its bottles, and often recycles the fibers as fertilizer. But the company still regularly has a surplus. We struggle to allocate [the remaining fibers] sometimes, Soto says. We don’t want to just throw it in a landfill. Simplehuman is Nosotross first agave brand partner, and it sees more opportunity to work with other brands to give agave a second life. There’s so much tequila being produced right now, Soto says. There are more fibers than people who are taking it. The company is in the early stages of creating a bigger market for products that can be made out of agave fibers like bricks, single-use cups, plates, and even glassware. Other tequila brands are also finding creative ways to eliminate the waste of agave fibers. Cazadores uses them, among other ingredients, as fuel to power its distillation process. Jose Cuervo has upcycled agave fibers to manufacture some out-of-the-box products including guitars and surfbards. Though the Simplehuman x Nosotros blanco tequila will only be available until the vintage is sold out, it’s a way to underscore how Simplehuman approaches its product development. Yang notes: If it’s not functional, why is it there?
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E-Commerce
Michigan has 24,000 known contaminated sites, a legacy of heavy manufacturing where industries carelessly discarded hazardous materials with minimal regulatory oversight. Taxpayers are often left to clean up these abandoned locations, known as brownfields, while the sheer volume of toxic sites has overwhelmed state regulators. With a little effort, these spaces can be more than a permanent blight on the landscape. Kelly Thayer, senior policy advocate with the states Environmental Law & Policy Center, envisions a future where Michigans brownfields are transformed into sites for diverse solar energy projects. The potential for new solar siting in Michigan aligns with growing nationwide support of the technology, according to a survey co-led by the University of Michigan. Among residents living within three miles of solar energy developments, positive opinions about the projects outnumbered negative ones by almost a 3-to-1 ratio. For the study, a large-scale solar project was defined as a ground-mounted photovoltaic system that generates one megawatt or more of direct current. The majority of respondents lived near new greenfield solar sitesdisturbed industrial locations or retiring coal plants were strongly preferred for solar development over forests or productive farmland. Thayer, from Frankfort on the shores of Lake Michigan, said there is already precedent for solar on former industrial land in his home state. A 120-megawatt solar array on a long-vacant mining operation in Michigans Upper Peninsula, for example, was met by residents with little controversy. Yet, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources proposal to transition a former oil-and-gas plot in Gaylord to solar energy was met with substantial public backlash in January. Following resident protests against tree and grassland removal for the solar array, the agency extended the public comment period and halted state land leases for solar projects. This limbo period gives Michigan a chance to readjust its solar siting approach, with an emphasis on distressed lands that would allow the technology to flourish, Thayer said. The work now is to chart the near-term future of how Michiganders get their energy, said Thayer, whose advocacy group focuses on renewable energy and clean transportation solutions for the Midwest. This can be talked about through the lens of climate or the environment, but the public health ramifications are enormous as well. A Vital Asset Last year, the state of Michigan won a $129 million grant from the EPA for utility-scale renewable energy projects, including those on brownfields. These orphan industrial plotslandfills, auto plants and other properties left to molder by private industryare vital assets for a state seeking to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, noted Thayer. Michigan aims to be a national climate action leader, driven by Governor Gretchen Whitmers 2050 carbon neutrality goals. Among the tenets of the MI Healthy Climate Plan is streamlining the siting process for wind, solar and battery storage projects. State legislation like Senate Bill 277, meanwhile, includes solar facilities as a permitted use for farmers under the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Act. Thayers organization, the Environmental Law & Policy Center, also views retiring coal plants as potential solar energy hubs, considering that they are already connected to the energy grid. For instance, the organization helped develop a blueprint for the Dan E. Karn coal plant site, slated as the future home for an 85-megawatt solar energy site expected to be operational in 2026. These are flat, highly-disturbed sites that also have a substation in place thats hard-wired to the grid, Thayer said. Having that infrastructure saves millions in development, and saves time because it takes four or five years to add new energy resources to the grid. Some Michigan clean energy projects are hindered by years-long grid connection delays as well as restrictive zoning ordinances that impede their development. In addition, Michigan lacks a comprehensive database of brownfields that detail key characteristics sought by solar developers, said Julie Lowe, brownfield coordinator for the remediation and redevelopment division of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). Developers will have to use multiple resources to site projects on known sites of contamination, said Lowe. They need databases for tree canopy cover, or have to do site reconnaissance to eyeball the slope and see if it fits their needs. An Array of Solar Options EGLE does offer a list of guidelines for anyone asking to purchase a contaminated property for renewable energy development. Prospective buyers must conduct a two-phase Baseline Environmental Assessment before moving ahead with a project. Due diligence may encompass a deep dive into a sites former use, as well as comprehensive testing of soil or groundwater samples. You may have to go back to the 19th century to determine what the property was used for, Lowe said. And there might be drilling or radar work needed to see if theres something in the ground. For brownfields, we see solvents [in the soil] for dry cleaning or auto repair, because those were chemicals used in those activities. Various brownfield incentives and programs may subsidize environmental remediation or any additional assessment a site requires, added Lowe. EGLEs Brownfield Tax Increment Financing utilizes the rise in tax revenue from a revitalized site to reimburse developers for the cleanup and demolition work that generated that increase. That is not to say developers should always foot the bill, said Thayer. A series of polluter pay lawswhich force parties responsible for contamination to pay for site cleanup and remediation costsare currently being proposed by Michigan lawmakers. Thayer also advocates for virtual power plant programs, enabling utilities to pay homeowners with solar and battery storage to contribute stored power during peak demand. Community solar, which involves installing arrays on vacant lots or working farmlands, can be another multibillion-dollar boon for Michigan, said Thayer. According to a 2021 study by Michigan State University, community solar could deliver a nearly $1.5 billion boost to the states economy over the next 30 years. For now, Michigan officials should prioritize cleaning up and advancing solar energy projects on the states innumerable polluted brownfields, said Sarah Mills, a University of Michigan researcher who directs the Center for EmPowering Communities at the Graham Sustainability Institute. I go to meetings about large renewables projects, and its mostly for farmland, said Mills. People will say, Why here, why not a brownfield? From a community acceptance perspective, this is what most people consider a no-brainer. By Douglas J. Guth, Inside Climate News This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News. It is republished with permission. Sign up for its newsletter here.
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E-Commerce
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