Will AI take all our jobs?
You see some new AI video. It does something insane. Something you thought only a human could do. And you get that cold, sinking feeling in your stomach…
“Uh oh. That looks… that looks a lot like what I do for a living.”
And your heart just drops. “Am I going to be replaced? Am I going to be left behind?”
I want you to just… take a deep breath. Because I’m right there with you. I’ve felt that exact same fear.
So, let’s just talk about it. No hype, no scary headlines. No tech-bro jargon. Just you and me, human to human.
Will AI take all our jobs?
I’ve thought about this a lot. And here is the honest, from-the-heart answer I’ve come to:
No. It won’t.
I truly, deeply believe that.
But… it is going to change things. A lot. And I think we just need to be really, really honest with ourselves about what’s actually changing. Because once you see it clearly, the fear starts to fade. And you start to see where you fit.
The Big Mistake We’re All Making
Our biggest fear comes from one simple misunderstanding. It’s a lie we’re all being told, or at least a story we’re telling ourselves.
We see AI, and we think of it as a new person. We think of it as “the new guy” who’s coming to sit at your desk, do your job 24/7, never ask for a raise, and make you obsolete.
That’s not what it is.
AI is a tool. It’s a “co-pilot.” It’s the smartest, fastest “intern” the world has ever seen.
And here is the absolute key to all of this: AI isn’t coming for your job. It’s coming for your tasks.
Think about your job right now. Not the title, but all the little pieces. Answering the same 10 emails… every single day. Filling out that mind-numbing spreadsheet. Trying to get that first, horrible, “blank page” draft written. Sitting in that meeting that really could have been an email.
Which parts of your day make you feel like a robot? Which parts do you secretly, or not-so-secretly, hate? The parts that drain your soul and make you watch the clock?
That’s what AI is coming for.
It’s brilliant at the 80% of our work that is repetitive, boring, and makes us feel drained. It’s coming to do the “robot work.”
So… What’s Left for Us? (All the Good Stuff)
This is the beautiful part. This is the part that gives me so much hope.
If AI does all the robotic work, what’s left for us?
What’s left is… the human stuff. The part that AI is just… awful at. I mean, truly, fundamentally terrible.
I want you to think about these as your “irreplaceable skills.” Your human superpowers.
- Empathy & Connection. AI can’t care. It can be programmed to say, “I’m sorry you’re having trouble,” but it can’t mean it. It can’t listen to a frustrated client and say, “Wow, I hear you. That sounds awful. Let’s fix this right now.” It can’t “read the room” in a meeting and sense that the team is stressed out. It can’t be a nurse holding a patient’s hand. It can’t be a teacher who sees the one kid in the back of the room who’s struggling. You can.
- True Creativity & “The Spark.” AI can’t dream. It can’t have a “crazy idea” in the shower. It’s a “remix machine.” It looks at everything we humans have already done and makes a new, statistically-likely combination. It can’t have that spark of genuine, original, “where-did-that-come-from” creativity. It can’t invent a new genre of music. It can’t write a story that comes from a place of real, lived pain or joy. You can.
- Strategy, Wisdom & “The Why.” AI can tell you what the data says. “Sales are down 5%.” It has no idea why that matters, or what the strategic, human move is. It can’t make a tough judgment call in a “grey area” that has no right answer. It can’t decide the “soul” of a brand. It can’t create a 5-year vision for a company based on a “gut feeling” and deep experience. You can.
- Physical, Nuanced Judgment. The real world is messy. AI can’t be a chef who tastes a sauce and knows it needs “a little something.” It can’t be a plumber who feels that a pipe is about to burst. It can’t be an electrician who just knows where the problem is. That hands-on, real-world, nuanced judgment is, for now, completely ours.
The Future Isn’t a Fight. It’s a Partnership.
So, please, stop thinking “it’s me versus the machine.” That’s a fight you’ll lose. If you try to do the robotic work faster than the robot, you’re just going to burn out.
The real, survivable, and exciting future is “Me with the Machine.”
The person who fights AI will be left behind. But the person who uses AI as their co-pilot? They are going to be unstoppable.
I’m a writer. I used to spend 80% of my time just struggling with a blank page. The anxiety of “what do I say?” was paralyzing.
Now? I treat AI as my co-pilot. I say, “Hey, I have this idea for an article about AI and jobs. I want it to be heartfelt. Give me 10 headlines. Give me a rough outline. Find me five good stats.”
It does that boring “grunt work” in 30 seconds.
And then, my real job begins. I get to do the 100% human part. I get to add the “heart.” I get to add the personal stories (like this one!). I get to add the wisdom and the empathy.
The AI does the tasks. I get to do the work.
The same is true for everyone:
- The coder who uses AI to write the boring parts can focus on building the complex, creative architecture.
- The marketer who uses AI to analyze the data can focus on dreaming up the next brilliant, human-centered campaign.
Please, Hear This…
That anxiety you’re feeling is real. I get it. But don’t let it paralyze you.
This isn’t a “replacement.” I truly believe it’s an invitation.
For our entire lives, we’ve been rewarded for being a little bit like robots. “How fast can you type?” “How good are you at spreadsheets?” “How much repetitive work can you handle without complaining?”
That’s all over.
For the first time in history, we are all about to be paid, rewarded, and valued for the one thing AI can never, ever do.
We’re being paid… to be human.
And that is a future I am genuinely excited for. You don’t need to “learn” how to be human. You’re already an expert at it.