Tech leaders keep saying it’s “not too late” to build in AI yet anxiety among Gen Z engineers, creators, and early-career professionals keeps rising. If access to powerful tools is more widespread than ever, why does opportunity still feel scarce?

In this Hot Bytes episode of culturally/INCOMPETENT, Nicholas Clements-Lindsey unpacks the disconnect between industry optimism and lived reality. By examining centralized AI infrastructure, comparison culture, and the pressure to move fast, this episode reframes “falling behind” as a systems problem not a personal failure.

Driving question: If everyone has access to the same technology, why does the future still feel like a race you’re already losing?