Anthropic’s latest AI release has investors fleeing legal software stocks. This is just the latest reminder of the potential. White collar bloodbath.
Michael Hausman, founder and chief strategist at AI-ccelerator, which specializes in AI education and consulting, told Business Insider that as AI transforms the workplace, many jobs are at stake, not just roles in specific industries.
The World Economic Forum’s 2026 Global Risks Report estimates that 92 million workers could be displaced from their jobs by 2030.
“Frankly, every knowledge worker is at risk,” Hausman told Business Insider.
Instead of falling into a spiral, here are concrete steps you can take to secure your career future.
1. Audit your job duties
Alex King, founder and managing director of AI talent acquisition firm ExpandIQ, told Business Insider that he believes jobs fall into three buckets: fully automated, scaled, and transformed. Most people will fall into the extended category. This means that some of the job will be automated, but not all of it, so it’s worth assessing the level of risk to your role.
King told Business Insider that workers should conduct an “audit” of their jobs. That includes reviewing their job description and creating a bulleted list of things they do each day.
”High predictability makes it highly vulnerable to AI automation. On the other hand, if it’s a more judgment-based or relationship-based role, you’re a little less vulnerable. ” said King.
Hausman, who is also the author of “Future Proof: Transform your Business with AI (or Get Left Behind),” said companies are “fast-tracking” to implement AI solutions in areas that involve repetitive tasks that don’t require a lot of cognitive load or complex problem solving, such as responding to emails.
2. Focus on impact
Employees and job applicants often describe what they’ve done without explaining the impact, King said. As work evolves, communicating its value to employers becomes increasingly important, especially as employers seek to quantify workers’ contributions.
For job seekers, executives such as LinkedIn’s vice president of engineering say side hustles can improve a candidate’s chances of landing a job. During your interview, be sure to showcase a concept you’ve brought to life, whether it’s a product you helped develop or a GitHub repository for a side project.
3. Sharpen your AI skills
As many roles move toward “augmentation” rather than outright replacement, improving your AI skillset could be the difference between keeping your job or losing it to someone more tech-savvy. For example, Accenture’s CEO announced in September that the company would cut staff who cannot be retrained for the AI era.
John Morgan, president of career transitions and mobility and leadership development at human resources firm LHH, said employees need to not only build a baseline of AI literacy skills, but also have a “deep understanding” of it.
“You can get any job, but you’ll probably have some kind of co-pilot to help you with that job,” Morgan said, adding that the better your AI skills, the better off you’ll be.
Mr King warned that many companies were not yet upskilling their employees and that employees should take the initiative themselves. He said there are many free resources available to learn about the basics of AI. One employee who transitioned into an AI role said he watches YouTube videos to develop skills in different areas.
4. Acquire soft skills
As AI increasingly automates jobs, King said workers will need to “double down” on their soft skills. This is a tenet that many executives have emphasized. IBM Chief Scientist Become an innovation officer at Cisco.
“People who have soft skills around self-awareness and emotional intelligence are going to do very well in the future, because that’s clearly something that AI can’t do,” King said.
LHH’s Morgan said critical thinking has always been important, but now it’s key to guiding companies through their AI strategies and delivering value.
“It’s becoming increasingly important to ask the right questions,” Morgan said, adding that it makes a difference in the job. candidates.
5. Think about entrepreneurship
Huisman said entrepreneurship can offer some people more mobility, flexibility and better pay. Additionally, the emergence of new technologies has lowered the barriers to entry.
“We’re going to see a lot of solopreneurs who can use these agent tools to start entirely new businesses from scratch,” Hausman said.
Hausman said employees need to learn about the “latest and greatest” tools in their field and identify opportunities to generate business. For example, Hausman said he worked with a social media manager who started dabbling in text-to-image conversion tools and eventually moved into animation, at least doubling his salary.
“I started thinking, ‘How can I play with these tools? How can I leverage AI to become a problem solver?'” Hausman says.
