An individual's resilience to AI disruption depends less on their specific role and more on their work environment. Job security is determined by personal adaptability and, crucially, whether the employer's culture supports experimentation, reskilling, and change.
Taste and creative judgment are not innate talents but the result of disciplined effort. True creativity is built by consuming vast amounts of material, relentlessly judging what works, creating consistently, and persisting long enough to improve. It is developed through reps, not a moment of inspiration.
Recent graduates are surprisingly resilient to AI displacement as they are digitally native and relatively inexpensive. The greatest risk is for costly, mid-career employees whose work can be done almost as well by a recent graduate leveraging AI for a fraction of the salary.
Contrary to fears that AI will replace coders, software engineering jobs are increasing. These roles are expanding because they involve more than just writing code, including customer interaction, ethical planning, and complex problem-solving—tasks AI can't yet replicate.
To get employees on board with AI, leaders must communicate a vision that focuses on augmentation, not replacement. However, this vision must be backed by tangible actions: mandating proficiency, visibly promoting AI adopters, and linking AI usage to compensation and rewards to drive real behavior change.
The introduction of ATMs unexpectedly doubled the number of bank tellers by enabling banks to open more branches. This historical precedent suggests AI will transform roles in unforeseen ways, shifting tasks from basic functions to relationship-oriented work rather than simply eliminating jobs.