2030 Thought Experiment: What if all the AI automation predictions come true?

Sep 15, 2026 — John Way

2030 Thought Experiment: What if all the AI automation predictions come true?

What would networking look like in 2030?

Imagine this: I show up to a business networking mixer in my driverless cab.

The host robot shows me to my eight-person table.

"Tell everyone your name, company, and what you do," says the table iPad.

I'm seated 4th. Here's how it could go.

Guy 1: "Hi, I'm Jason, we do agentic workflow orchestration."

Everybody nods. I nod, too.

Gal 2: "I'm Heather, we're an intelligence transformation studio for revenue teams."

Nods again.

Gal 3: "I'm Madison, we build autonomous outcome infrastructure for enterprise-grade decision intelligence for digital workers"

Nods. Someone adds an “oooooo.”

Three AI agencies. What luck! My GenZ AIs are starting to cop an attitude.

My Turn: "I help humans talk to other humans."

Silence.

Nobody nods. The guy on my right freezes, halfway through buttering his roll.

Me (thinks): Oh no. I embarrassed myself again.

Guy 5: "*Ahem* I can automate that for you."

2030, can't wait!