Geoffrey Hinton said “become a plumber” if you're worried about AI.

He was only half-joking. But he showed us something important about the future of work.

1. From Execution to Evaluation

Before: You research, analyze, and write reports.

Now: AI generates drafts, you provide critical judgment.

Your value: Knowing what's wrong, not just what's right.

2. From Knowledge to Curation

Before: You needed to know everything in your field.

Now: You need to know which AI outputs to trust.

Your value: Pattern recognition across AI-generated content.

3. From Individual to Orchestrator

Before: You completed tasks solo.

Now: You manage multiple AI agents working simultaneously.

Your value: Strategic thinking about workflow design.

4. From Technical to Ethical

Before: Focus on getting the work done.

Now: Focus on ensuring the work should be done.

Your value: Moral reasoning and consequence evaluation

5. From Production to Innovation

Before: You spent 80% of time on routine tasks.

Now: AI handles routine, you focus on breakthrough thinking.

Your value: Asking questions nobody thought to ask.

Most important skills that will continue to matter

Critical thinking beats technical knowledge. Ethics trump efficiency. Human judgment remains irreplaceable. At least for the next little while

So, what does our future look like?

AI won’t steal your job by default. But someone using AI better than you might. The difference isn’t technical skills. It’s knowing when to trust the machine and when to override it. The entry level is disappearing, and instead, we are training to orchestrate tasks together with our artificial buddies.

What skill are you developing to stay ahead of the AI curve? Let us know in the comments.

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