AI is a generous purpose technology whose ramifications have touched almost every aspect of our society from education and healthcare to finance, law, and creative industries. A specific subset of this technology known as generative AI (GenAI) is especially reshaping how we learn, teach, and do our day to day tasks.
I am a vocal supporter of the embrace of this new technology in education as I believe that its advantages far outweighs its inconveniences. Needless to mention that GenAI is here to stay, expand, and probably take over!
But with the rapid advances of Generative AI and its quick adoption across various industries, I can’t help but wonder about the fate of our jobs. As you know by now, AI is no longer just automating routine tasks, it’s writing, designing, coding, analyzing data, and even making strategic recommendations. The line between human and machine capabilities is blurring faster than we anticipated.
Will AI Replace Your Job?
I have recently being seriously thinking about this hotly debated topic of whether AI will take or replace our jobs. The idea is, for sure, a source of fear and anxiety for many, and understandably so. As AI continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, it’s reshaping industries, automating tasks, and forcing us to rethink the future of work.
To answer this question of whether AI will take our jobs, I came up with three scenarios:
1. AI as an Autonomous Worker
If AI can do your job without human oversight, meaning, act as an autonomous agent capable of performing tasks with minimum human intervention then yes AI will eventually replace you. This isn’t speculation; it’s already happening in certain industries.
Tasks that are rule-based, repetitive, and highly structured are the most vulnerable to automation. Jobs in data entry, basic customer service, and routine financial analysis are already being taken over by AI-driven software that operates more efficiently and with fewer errors than humans.
To drive home this idea, think of the operator ChatGPT has recently introduced, while this technology is still in infancy it nonetheless provides a sneak peek into the amazing work this technology will be able to perform.
These AI models are moving beyond simple text-based assistance and stepping into roles that involve dynamic, real-time decision-making. They can browse the web, retrieve information, execute tasks, and even integrate with other software tools without requiring constant human guidance.
2. AI as an Assistant
If AI can only do parts of your job, like facilitate workflow, improve efficiency and automate repetitive processes, while the rest still depends on human expertise then AI will not take your job. Rather, it will improve and enhance it. This is especially the case in fields such as education, healthcare, and creative industries where AI plays a huge role in assisting rather than replacing professionals.
Let’s take the example of teaching since most of you reading this are teachers and educators. Generative AI has done some tremendous things for us in teaching. You can now use AI tools to help with grading, generate lesson plans, create personalized teaching materials, automate administrative tasks and many more. However, AI is unable to replace the human connection and rapport your build with your students. This remains uniquely human and I don’t think AI will ever be able to replace it.
However, since economics and capital play a decisive role in driving change across industries, including education, I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire landscape shifts once Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) becomes a reality. AGI will be endowed with super-intelligent capabilities that will enable it to act at or beyond human cognitive levels.
If such AI were developed, we could see autonomous AI tutors and AI teachers capable of handling both content delivery and student engagement in ways that make a significant portion of the teaching workforce dispensable.
3. AI as Advisor
If AI cannot do your job due to the complexity of human judgement, emotional intelligence or high-stakes decision-making, then your job is safe, at least for now. I say for now because AI advances in fast and unpredictable ways, often surpassing expectations in areas once thought uniquely human.
That said, those whose jobs are at the safer end of the spectrum include leadership roles (e.g.,presidents, CEOs, etc). These jobs are usually grounded in politics, power, and human dynamics, requiring nuanced judgment, negotiation, ethical reasoning, and the ability to inspire and influence others—skills that AI, for now, struggles to replicate. However, AI may still augment these roles by handling various tasks such as data analysis and providing insights that support human decision-making.
Related: Benefits of AI in Education
Final thoughts
So, I think the real question isn’t just whether AI will replace jobs, but how work itself will evolve. Past technological revolutions have shown us that as some jobs disappear new ones emerge. The key is to adapt, re-skill, and find ways to integrate AI into our work rather than resisting it entirely.
Bottom line, those who learn to leverage AI effectively will have the greatest job security in the long run.
