If you feel weirdly uncertain about your career, your job or whether your degree will matter in five years, you’re not crazy. There’s a name for it.
In April 2026, Harvard Business Review published "The Future Is Shrouded in an AI Fog" by Toby E. Stuart, a professor at UC Berkeley Haas. He wrote it for business leaders, but it explains the feeling perfectly: AI is changing things faster than anyone can plan for, so the future gets harder to see.
That shakes every long bet, from a 30-year investment to a decade of training for a career. His example is a radiologist:
Toby E. Stuart, HBR
"You spend a decade to become a radiologist because you believe you’ll be compensated for your hard-earned expertise for the duration of your career."
AI fog is when that belief gets shaky. The same goes for a four-year degree, a spot halfway up the corporate ladder or a long lease in a job market that could look completely different in five years, or even six months.
Toby E. Stuart, HBR
"In the face of the AI fog, the sudden invisibility of the future means that the only compelling option is optionality itself."
Instead of betting everything on one long plan, keep building skills that give you options and make small bets you can walk away from. The people best placed to handle the fog are the ones who started learning AI early. If you’re reading this, that’s probably you.
01
Make Claude your home base
Set up a Claude Project for what you do most, like your job, your side hustle or your weekly admin. Add your context, voice and files once and stop re-explaining yourself. My 5-step setup.
02
Build trust with people
A small audience that trusts you is one of the most AI-proof things you can own. 200 people who open your emails beat 200,000 who scroll past. Show up consistently, sound like a human and give before you ask.
03
Learn fast on purpose
Flexibility comes down to how quickly you can pick up something new when the old thing shifts. Treat learning like a muscle. Teach back what you just learned, publicly if you can, to lock it in.
04
Ship one public thing with AI
A landing page, a tool or a guide with a real link and your name on it. Claude can help you build it even if you’ve never coded. Being someone who builds, not just talks about AI, pays off whichever tool wins.
05
Start one small AI-powered income stream
A weekend product, a freelance service or a paid template. The point isn’t the money. You make braver career decisions when a small side bet is already running.