August 22, 2025
Artificial intelligence isn’t just coming for jobs, it’s already here, and it doesn’t matter about your resume. Every time someone says, “AI will create more jobs than it destroys,” they’re clinging to an old story that might not survive the speed of what’s happening now.
The truth? AI works faster, cheaper, and with fewer complaints than any human you can hire. Sometimes not as well, but they’re working on it. It doesn’t ask for raises, doesn’t take weekends off, and never gets tired. From a business perspective, replacing people with AI isn’t just tempting, it’s inevitable.
We’ve seen this before with automation on factory floors. But this time, it’s not just assembly line workers in danger. White-collar jobs, the kind people thought were “safe” are falling too. AI can draft contracts, write marketing campaigns, analyze spreadsheets, even give legal advice. Whole departments that used to run on human expertise are now being condensed into a piece of software running on a server.
Customer service? Chatbots have already eaten a big chunk of it. Why pay 100 people to answer phones when one AI can handle thousands of customers at once? Creative fields? Don’t get too comfortable. AI can now design logos, generate art, write songs, and churn out ad copy in seconds. Sure, it’s not always genius-level work, but for companies, “good enough” at a fraction of the cost wins every time.
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Transportation might be the next massive casualty. Self-driving trucks and delivery bots aren’t science fiction anymore. Once technology hits full reliability, millions of driving jobs are at risk. The ripple effect…from truck stops to auto repair shops…will be enormous.
AI doesn’t just take jobs. It stops new ones from being created. If a business can scale without hiring more humans, they won’t hire more humans. Productivity goes up, payroll goes down, and the labor market quietly shrinks.
People love to point out that new tech has always created new industries. True. But the Industrial Revolution rolled out over decades. AI is rewriting job descriptions in months. By the time the “new industries” show up, millions could already be sidelined and retraining them won’t be simple.
And more, while AI moves ahead at a blistering pace, legislation to handle it is taking a back seat to pols fighting over the shape of a voting district.
This isn’t about hating technology. AI is a powerful tool. But pretending it’s only a job creator is dangerous.
Math is brutal: If AI can do your job cheaper and faster, at some point it will. And the companies that adopt it first will have a competitive advantage, which means everyone else will follow.
In my own work we were early adopters of artificial intelligence to analyze and select stocks for portfolios. In doing so, we were able to avoid hiring a human analyst, thereby saving $150,000/year in labor expense. And the algorithm could analyze 500 stocks in under an hour…something beyond the capability of even a group of analysts.
The question isn’t “Will it happen?” The question is whether we’re ready for an economy where millions of people may not be needed.
Now this steps into a global shrinkage in working populations. The pig through the python is my generation, the Boomers. Behind us, the working population numbers begin to shrink. So ironically, just as labor becomes less plentiful, in steps AI to fill the gap…another accelerant in human job reduction.
I took the sports car to the shop for an oil change. It’s a racing car so they go upscale on all the charges. That guy makes the equivalent of $100,000/year. AI can’t get under the hood and pour the oil. A robot? Maybe someday but not anytime soon.
Speaking of robots, my son, who is in the golf course business, is in the process of automating one of his driving ranges with robots. He believes he will reach full automation within the year. The grass will be mown; the balls will be collected and dropped in buckets. Robot vehicles scurrying around.
And so, people need to be taking a hard look at the building trades, or any other career that can’t be easily automated. Because those jobs will be safe and they will pay well.
We are in the midst of a revolution in labor and what machines can do. Kids going to college today thinking themselves safe in many of the traditional high-end professions (law, surgery, programming…) will be in for a rude shock.
Never in the past 100 years will research and career analysis be more valuable. If you’re advising your kids or your grandkids, you can’t simply rely on your own life experience here. The game has shifted, and it is not the game we grew up on. When we’re advising young people, we need to keep this in mind.
Thoughts, questions, or reflections? I’d love to hear them. You can reach me anytime at anthony@workingprofit.com
