Rethinking Jobs When AI Does the Thinking: The Human Jobs AI Can’t Touch

AI isn’t just coming… It’s already here, and it’s reshaping how we think about jobs. But the big question isn’t about which jobs AI will take; it’s about what new types of jobs humans will step into. We are transitioning from a knowledge-based economy to one driven by critical thinking and creative problem-solving. Soon, accessing PhD-level knowledge will be as simple as prompting an AI agent. The real skill will lie in knowing what questions to ask, how to ask them via a prompt, and how to guide AI to produce meaningful results.

PhD-level Expert on Phone

BUT here’s the issue: If AI handles most knowledge tasks, how do we ensure people, especially younger generations, learn enough foundational knowledge to ask smart questions with the context that AI prompts need? There is a tricky balance between relying on AI’s intelligence and cultivating our own critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. If we don’t get this right, we’ll have a generation comfortable giving commands without truly understanding how the systems they’re commanding actually work.

Balancing Knowledge Acquisition and Critical Thinking

Today, deep expertise and hands-on learning seem less profitable because AI provides rapid, high-level insights. However, true critical thinking isn’t something you can instantly download from an AI model. It requires humans to spend real time mastering foundational concepts, learning from failures, and experiencing the physical and mental process of problem-solving firsthand.

Foundational Knowledge

Adults already established in the workforce face a unique challenge here. Many have built careers on knowledge-based tasks that AI increasingly automates. For them, embracing continuous learning via 1) understanding how AI systems work, 2) how to direct them effectively, or 3) even pivoting toward entirely new roles will become crucial. The workforce will need robust retraining programs to smoothly guide mid-career professionals into roles enhanced, rather than diminished, by AI. The cynic in me knows this will largely depend on individuals with zero financial support (unless you count unemployment benefits) and formal training (such as extension courses) made available en masse. China, on the other hand, knows this is important and is going all in.

To effectively direct AI agents, humans must understand the basics behind the tools they use. Imagine supervising a robotics system without knowing basic mechanics, or troubleshooting code generated by AI without understanding the fundamentals of software engineering. We have already seen “vibe coding” landing in production and it isn’t pretty. As I have been saying a LOT recently, if you are in the technology field, your true job is that you are a lifelong learner who MUST pivot to the next big thing happening in tech, even if it means short-term disruption to your career.

What Future Jobs Might Look Like: Rooted in the Physical World

As AI and automation increasingly dominate knowledge-based roles, future jobs will shift towards:

  • Tangible, hands-on tasks that AI struggles to replicate,
  • Tasks requiring rapport, empathy, and that human touch,
  • Where the cost-to-benefit ratio of replacing humans with AI is costly or there isn’t a financial benefit for doing so.

The future of human employment will likely be grounded in the physical world, focusing on tasks that require nuanced physical interaction, spatial reasoning, empathy, or personalized service.

Future of Human Employment

For tech professionals, this could mean adapting from pure software roles to tech roles grounded in physical reality, such as IoT integration, robotics, hardware troubleshooting, and hands-on cybersecurity assessments. It also means shifting toward roles where AI is complementary, such as AI integration specialists or human-AI interaction designers. There has been explosive growth in AI, but honestly, like everything in tech… it’s only a matter of time (perhaps around 5ish years) before we reach peak AI/ML and the natural contraction begins to occur. It has happened in EVERY wave I have caught in my career: virtualization, containerization, and it will happen to AI/ML in some form. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get on the AI bandwagon… Get on NOW!

Humans naturally excel at adapting quickly to unpredictable situations and understanding context intuitively… areas where AI often falters. Jobs that require agility, physical dexterity, intuition, and empathy will thrive. Tech workers who embrace this shift will find new opportunities where their understanding of both technology and human interaction becomes indispensable.

Example Job 1: Repairing Robots, IoT, and Edge Devices

Take, for example, robot repair technicians. As factories, homes, and public spaces become increasingly populated with robots and IoT devices, the job of maintaining, repairing, and optimizing these devices will be crucial. AI can diagnose many issues, but can’t perform nuanced physical repairs, deal with unexpected hardware malfunctions, or adapt flexibly to unique real-world problems.

IoT/Edge Robots

Software engineers and IT professionals could naturally transition into roles that blend coding skills with physical troubleshooting. AI can help quickly identify software or hardware faults, but human technicians will perform the intricate, hands-on adjustments that ensure devices run smoothly. I am from Long Beach, CA which happens to have the first and second large container ports in the United State and robotic has been been transforming the port for years, but when these automated cargo container movers need to change a tire, they are going to rely on humans to do this task.

Example Job 2: Physical and In-Person Trades

Jobs like plumbing, electrical work, construction, and HVAC installation will remain essential… and human-driven. These jobs require fine motor skills, judgment based on real-world conditions, and improvisation in unpredictable environments. Even sophisticated robotics will struggle to navigate cramped crawl spaces, creatively reroute pipes in unexpected wall cavities, or intuitively understand the quirks of an aging home.

Where Robots Lack Agility

Interestingly, professionals from technology sectors might find unexpected opportunities in these traditionally non-tech trades. The skills developed in software or IT roles, such as problem-solving, troubleshooting, and logic-based thinking, can be easily applied to these physical trades. Bringing tech skills into traditional industries can lead to lucrative niches, such as smart home installations, intelligent building automation, or specialized technical consultancy within physical trades.

Example Job 3: Service-Related Jobs

Human-focused service jobs, such as those in healthcare, hospitality, personal training, and caregiving, will continue to see demand. These roles require empathy, sound judgment, and effective interpersonal connections. AI can complement these roles by providing better diagnostics, improved customer experience tools, or intelligent scheduling, but it cannot replace the human element of genuine care and interaction.

Human Related Jobs

Tech professionals accustomed to remote, purely digital interactions might also find fulfilling and secure employment by pivoting toward more human-connected tech roles. Consider roles in telemedicine support, where understanding both human psychology and technology enables an engaging patient experience. Or perhaps educational technology support, blending AI tools with human interaction to create personalized learning environments. Embracing roles that bridge technology and human connection will become an increasingly rewarding career strategy.

Example Job 4: AI Security Specialists

AI systems themselves create new security demands both in protecting and disrupting these technologies. Roles in AI security will become highly specialized, including professionals who intentionally probe AI systems to discover vulnerabilities, making AI more secure and robust against misuse. AI penetration testers will simulate attacks on machine learning systems, uncovering weaknesses that could otherwise go unnoticed until exploited maliciously.

AI Hacker

Other professionals might specialize in disrupting foreign AI systems, whether for national defense or corporate security. This requires a deep understanding of sophisticated machine-learning architectures to infiltrate, confuse, or disable these systems, thereby ensuring our own technological and geopolitical safety.

Privacy specialists will also become increasingly essential, helping individuals and organizations protect personal data and maintain anonymity in an increasingly AI-monitored environment. The growth of AI surveillance and profiling makes safeguarding privacy and anonymity more critical and complex than ever, demanding highly skilled and ethical professionals committed to navigating these nuanced challenges.

The Full Stop Thought: The World Will Be a Different Place

The AI-driven economy will undoubtedly transform jobs, shifting value away from pure knowledge roles toward hands-on, problem-solving, and critical-thinking tasks. Rather than displacing humans entirely, AI will reshape our work, emphasizing roles that leverage uniquely human strengths, such as physical skill, creativity, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. Those pure knowledge based roles will disappear, if it hasn’t already.

Humans Helping Other Humans

Both young professionals and adults already in the workforce must adopt a mindset of continuous learning and adaptability. Tech professionals, in particular, need to explore roles beyond traditional coding; embracing jobs that connect technology with human experiences or physical environments. Through proactive preparation and adaptation, we can ensure a balanced, human-centered future in which AI enhances, rather than replaces, our roles and responsibilities.

Will AI replace jobs? There is no doubt about that. A lot of jobs will be replaced, but it will also create even more jobs, just like when the automobile replaced the horse-drawn carriage. Entire industries were created which included everything from auto repair shops to air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror. Everyone (regardless of industry) should learn about AI and see how it can help you out. It’s always been my belief that humans will be an integral part of directing AI to do work for some time. As the world starts to enter the next phase of AI, you aren’t likely to be replaced by AI, but you will likely be replaced by someone who’s using AI.

Beyond the Resume: Speculative Hiring Trends in an AI World

I was recently at a conference where I started chatting with a computer science graduate about job hunting in the world today. We discussed the job market landscape as it exists today and all of the economic influences, disruptive technology (cough, AI, cough), and competition out there.

Old School Cell Phone

When I first jumped into my first professional job out of college, the world was entirely a different place. Social media was still an infant, we were rapidly approaching the dot-com bubble, and we were a few years away from (real) smartphones becoming available. In this conversation, I reflected on what challenges I faced then and wondered how I would react to the demands and problems faced in the current technology climate.

Having been on both sides of the aisle when it comes to the interview process as an interviewee and building one of the best teams as an interviewer, I thought it might be good to share the conversation I had and also expand on it a little further having had a little more time to think about it. Let’s dive into it…

How LinkedIn Connects Candidates to Employers

LinkedIn has become the go-to platform for recruiters seeking top talent, but it’s evolving beyond a simple job board. The platform has adjusted its algorithm to prioritize actively engaged candidates – those who post updates, comment on other people’s posts, and interact with their network. Simply having a profile and being logged in isn’t enough anymore. Recruiters want to connect with individuals who use the platform daily in the event an opportunity finds its way into your inbox, and, second, that you demonstrate interest and expertise in their field through their activity.

Look at this from the recruiter’s and LinkedIn’s point of view. If you are paying buckets of cash for LinkedIn Hire to find a candidate for an open position, you, as a recruiter, ideally want a response to each message sent. Also, LinkedIn doesn’t want to connect individuals to a recruiter who might not respond. This is the summary of the interaction right here… full stop. This shift means job seekers need to rethink their approach.

Be Active On Social Media

Staying visible requires active participation, from sharing industry insights to engaging with thought leaders. Those who embrace this shift can significantly increase their chances of being noticed and approached for opportunities. In contrast, passive candidates who only update their profiles when job hunting may find themselves overlooked. Being “active” on any job platform (especially LinkedIn) usually means you will reply to an inquiry for an open job.

AI Will Kill the Resume

The rise of AI tools has transformed the job application process, making it easier than ever for candidates to create tailored resumes that align perfectly with job descriptions. Tools like ChatGPT can generate highly customized resumes that match job listings with striking accuracy. I haven’t done this myself because I am very selective of the positions that I am seeking. Still, as someone more open to different types of work, using a prompt that mashes your resume and the job description together, I am guessing it might put you at the top of the list.

Be Active On Social Media

However, this has created a significant challenge for recruiters… many candidates look great on paper but lack the actual skills needed for the job. This trend has led to an increase in candidates getting through the initial screening, only to falter during technical interviews or practical assessments. I see a lot of chatter on subreddits where it’s been very difficult to land a job, let alone get a call back after the first interview. As AI-driven resume generation becomes more common, companies will need to adopt new strategies to verify a candidate’s true abilities before moving forward in the hiring process.

As someone who has helped build teams, it’s VERY time consuming hiring people. The time spent on the interview process is time spent away from doing my actual day-to-day tasks; unfortunately, that work doesn’t stop just because I am interviewing candidates. Even back then, I was very selective about the individuals who got an email for an interview.

How Do You Prove Competence?

With AI making it easier to “embellish” resumes, the challenge for employers is determining whether a candidate truly possesses the skills they claim. Just as students can use AI to complete homework without fully understanding the material, job seekers can list expertise they don’t genuinely have or may just have passing knowledge in. This presents a costly dilemma for businesses… how do they identify qualified individuals without wasting resources on lengthy interview processes?

Be Active On Social Media

Organizations are adopting different screening mechanisms, such as skill assessments, project-based evaluations, and real-world problem-solving tests. Conducting multiple rounds of interviews can be expensive and inefficient, so refining the process to quickly filter out candidates that may not be a good match is crucial to maintaining productivity and hiring success. I think we are in the middle of this shift right now.

Having said that, I hope this isn’t a new era of “Interview 2.0” questions because you know… all software engineers need to be able to tell you how to get 4 gallons of water using only a 3 and 5-gallon jug or to estimate the number of trees in Central Park. Although, I would rather do that than have a week-long programming assignment to prove I know how to program. Trust me, I have declined many of those because it’s like I have an infinite amount of time in my day and love doing work for free.

Public Speaking and Open Source May Hold the Answer

So what do we do about this particular problem?

To address the challenge of validating skills without extensive in-person interviews, companies/interviewers may want to turn to alternative proof of competencies, such as public speaking engagements and, for the tech world, their open-source contributions. Reviewing a candidate’s GitHub activity, technical blog posts, or recorded presentations can provide valuable insights into their expertise and problem-solving abilities.

GitHub Contributions

Although I never really looked at user content 7-10 years ago, I did look at GitHub and open source contributions on other platforms. With AI being able to generate code in any language these days, there is something to be said about supporting a product or an open source project. When a user/customer reports an issue, the project maintainer must triage, root cause the problem, and interact with another human being. This speaks volumes.

GitHub Contributions

Similarly, public speaking appearances or videos posted on social media platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, etc, at industry events or webinars allow recruiters to see how well candidates can articulate complex concepts. At the end of presentations, there is inevitably a Q&A session where they aren’t going to be able to use ChatGPT to answer a question live in-person. These in-person examples or recorded sessions provide a more authentic measure of skill and commitment than a polished resume ever could.

The Full Stop Thought

So, where do we go from here? We are seeing some of these changes happen in recruiting today. I have heard of interviews where a link kicks off a recorded session, and you, as the interviewer, are presented with questions to answer on video for review later. I don’t know how effective this is, but I have heard of this happening. Is this a good solution? It sounds horrible if you ask me, but change is happening.

As someone who has been on both sides of the fence, the challenges in hiring today are interesting and unique, to say the least. However, there is something to be said for verifiable contributions, like GitHub or posted videos. As someone who thinks social media has done a number on society and who only has socials for work-related purposes only, I came to one possible answer… this content can provide a window into someone’s vested interest in topics they chose and how they demonstrate understanding of that topic.

Until next time!

Will AI Replace Mid-Level Engineers by 2025? Not So Fast, Mark Zuckerberg

It’s hard to ignore the growing buzz around artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential impact on various industries. Recently, Mark Zuckerberg predicted on Joe Rogan’s podcast that AI could replace mid-level engineers by 2025. While it’s a compelling narrative, it misses the mark for several reasons. Let’s unpack why this prediction is more hype than reality.

Companies Aren’t Fully Using Their Own AI Tools

Take Salesforce as a prime example. The company has heavily promoted its AI-powered sales agents, touting them as the future of sales. Yet, if you look at Salesforce’s own career page, approximately 75% of their job postings (775 out of 1035 as of Jan 16, 2025) are for sales roles. If their AI tools were truly ready to replace human salespeople, why wouldn’t Salesforce “dogfood” their own product, slash sales jobs, and reap massive savings?

Dogfooding Gone Wrong

This disconnect isn’t unique to Salesforce. Many companies pushing AI solutions still rely heavily on human expertise to deliver the results they promise. It’s one thing to sell the dream of AI-driven automation, but it’s another to trust your core operations to it. If organizations like Salesforce, which stand to gain the most from successful AI adoption, aren’t betting the farm on their own tools, why should we believe AI will displace engineers en masse at other companies?

AI-Generated Code Still Needs Maintenance

Even if AI can write functional code, that doesn’t eliminate the need for mid-level engineers. All code, no matter how well-written, eventually requires updates. Security vulnerabilities need patching, APIs evolve, dependencies get deprecated, and business requirements change. Who’s going to handle these inevitable maintenance tasks? AI might be able to assist, but it can’t completely replace the nuanced understanding of a system that a human engineer provides.

Consider the metaphor of AI as a power tool for software development. It can make some tasks faster and easier, but someone still needs to wield the tool, know how to use it safely, and fix the mess when something goes wrong. Far from making engineers obsolete, AI tools are likely to amplify their productivity—and perhaps even increase demand for engineers who can effectively integrate these tools into their workflows.

AI Generated Code

If companies like Meta actually moved forward with replacing most of their mid-level engineers, they’d quickly find themselves in a “foot-and-gun” scenario. Without a robust team of engineers to maintain and adapt AI-generated code, systems would break down, product development would stall, and customer trust would erode. It’s a short-sighted strategy that prioritizes immediate cost savings over long-term resilience.

Selling the Promise of AI Is in Their Interest

It’s no secret that tech giants have a vested interest in promoting AI as the next big thing. AI and machine learning are lucrative business lines, and hyping up their potential is a great way to attract investment, sell products, and capture headlines. By framing AI as a technology capable of replacing entire swaths of the workforce, these companies generate excitement and urgency around adopting their solutions.

Heck, I am an AI/ML Engineer… I am in the space promoting the same thing, but my views on AI/ML is that they are HIGHLY strategic tools to be used by people. Replacing mid-level engineers isn’t just a technical challenge; it’s a strategic one. Engineering teams don’t just write code—they collaborate, solve complex problems, and adapt systems to changing business needs. These human-centric tasks are not easily outsourced to AI, no matter how advanced it becomes.

AI Generated Code

At the end of the day, humans consume the products that these companies produce. Until that changes, people will make the decision on what to buy and companies need to persuade those people to choose to buy their products. AI/ML systems don’t understand why things go viral, why we collectively like what we do, and why things like Hawk Tuah or Luigi Mangione captured our collective attention. Would AI have predicted that a good number of people would rally around someone killing another person? I think not.

The Full Stop Thought

AI is undoubtedly transforming how we work, and some jobs will inevitably be impacted. However, the idea that AI will replace most mid-level engineers at companies like Meta by 2025 is far-fetched. The reality is that AI tools are most effective as complements to human expertise, not replacements for it. Companies still need skilled engineers to maintain systems, adapt to changes, and ensure the quality of their products—and that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Here is the final thought… Currently, all AI systems today start with a user prompt. The keyword here is the user. Humans drive the direction of the work an AI system does because they aren’t self-aware of their environment. They don’t know what’s happening outside the digital world and the little box they live in. Until AI systems interfaces become a simple power switch without requiring a user prompt, these systems will need humans to direct what they produce. Period.