AI Won’t Take Your Job. But Someone Who Knows AI Will | Today Show Appearance
The future of work isn’t coming—it’s already knocking. On June 18th, I joined NBC’s Today Show to help break down one of the most pressing—and misunderstood—topics in business and culture right now: Is AI going to take our jobs?
Let’s clear the air. Yes, artificial intelligence will replace some jobs. But it will create even more—for those who are ready.
This moment isn’t about AI versus humanity. It’s about AI + humanity. The winners in the age of automation will be those who understand where to point the technology—not just how to build it.
Generative AI Is Reshaping the Workforce
During the segment, we opened with a scene that’s become all too familiar: humans still managing basic scheduling tasks. Whether it’s booking tennis courts or coordinating shifts, countless operations across industries are still stuck in 1990.
AI can—and should—handle these rote, rules-based tasks. But the deeper story is how generative AI is making that transformation real—and fast. Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are moving from novelty to necessity.
As I said on-air:
“For a while, you needed to know how to operate a camera to be a good photographer. Now, most of the best photographers just need to know where to point the camera.”
The same is true with AI. It’s no longer about knowing how to build a model. It’s about knowing what to ask of it. Judgment > code.
The Alarm Bells Are Ringing
Geoffrey Hinton, often called the “Godfather of AI,” recently said AI will likely replace everyone doing mundane intellectual labor. He’s not alone.
The CEO of Anthropic predicts 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs could vanish.
Amazon’s CEO is already prepping employees for corporate workforce reductions.
A recent NBC News poll shows Americans are split—roughly half say they rarely or never use AI. Many don’t yet believe it will improve their lives.
But the ground is already shifting. Whether you’re in marketing, operations, design, or customer service, AI is no longer future-speak. It’s today’s competitive edge.
No, This Isn’t Science Fiction
Despite these dire predictions, AI won’t just kill jobs—it will redefine and create them.
We’re entering a new kind of economy. One where entirely new job categories are emerging, including:
Consistency Coordinators – Professionals who ensure AI-generated content maintains visual and brand coherence.
AI Plumbers – Technical specialists who diagnose and fix breakdowns in multi-layered AI systems across an organization.
Synthetic Designers – Creative roles focused on guiding AI tools to produce visuals, layouts, and experiences that resonate emotionally with humans.
These aren’t fantasy roles. They’re already hiring.
Stop Solving. Start Spotting.
The most in-demand skill in the AI era won’t be execution. It will be problem identification.Why? Because AI can generate answers, build workflows, and automate tasks. But it still struggles with framing the right question.
This shift mirrors the rise of strategy roles in the early digital era. Back then, digital skills were rare. Today, AI fluency is the new differentiator.
Being able to spot the problem—and prompt the machine to solve it—is the new career superpower.
The Age of Co-Intelligence
On the Today Show, we addressed a core truth: AI isn’t here to replace plumbers, electricians, or even Pop Stars. It’s here to augment what humans already do best.
In jobs where precision, judgment, creativity, or empathy are essential, AI becomes a force multiplier.
A designer using AI can create 10 versions of a mockup in minutes—freeing up time to focus on the vision.
A support agent with an AI assistant can respond faster while adding more personal context.
A content strategist can use generative AI to explore new narratives, formats, and customer insights.
This isn’t about removing humans. It’s about redefining human excellence in an AI-powered world.
AI Literacy Is the New Digital Literacy
Here’s the most important takeaway from the segment:
“Even if AI seems hard, you should start familiarizing yourself with it. Play around with the chatbot. Learn how it works.”
That’s it. Not coding. Not advanced data science. Just getting in the game.
Use ChatGPT or Gemini to draft your next meeting agenda.
Ask Claude to brainstorm five names for a new product.
Try Midjourney or DALL-E to visualize a new ad campaign.
You don’t need a roadmap. You need curiosity.
For Parents: AI Is Already in the Classroom
As we discussed live, parents are waking up to the fact that their kids are already using AI—for homework, research, even coding projects.
If you’re a parent, here’s the best thing you can do: learn the tools yourself. Not to block them. But to guide them.
Just as we once taught our kids how to use the internet responsibly, we now need to help them navigate AI intentionally.
That means:
Understanding what tools they’re using
Talking about ethical implications
Encouraging creation, not just consumption
Bottom Line: The Future Belongs to the Adaptable
Every generation faces disruption. For ours, it’s AI. And unlike the dot-com boom or the social media wave, this shift will be faster, deeper, and more transformative.
But we’re not helpless. In fact, this could be the most empowering moment of our professional lives—if we’re willing to evolve.
Start here:
Re-skill your teams with AI fluency.
Reframe your workflows to focus on judgment over repetition.
Reinvest your time in learning, experimentation, and insight.
Because in the AI era, your biggest advantage is knowing where to point the camera.
