What stays valuable when AI can do so much? In this episode we untangle the skills we believe won't be replaced by AI, and how to actually use AI in a way that sharpens your thinking rather than rotting your brain.

We get into why live experiences are becoming more valuable as AI grows, the widening gap between people who use AI well and those who don't, and why critical thinking is the single most important skill to protect. We talk about what's being lost when entry-level and middle-management jobs disappear, why "walk slower to run faster" applies to AI, and the timeless human skills that machines genuinely can't replicate: vulnerable storytelling, designing for feeling, mutual learning, problem-solving, and making work fun.

Plus practical prompts you can use today, including how to build a personal budget with AI, how to approach job applications, and our rule that AI-assisted work is only as good as the pre-work you did before you opened ChatGPT.

In this episode:

• Why live events and human experiences are becoming premium in an AI world
• The capability gap between "humans with AI" and "humans without AI"
• Critical thinking as the #1 skill to protect (and how to train it)
• Why AI is being used as an excuse to cut middle management (and the medium-term problem this creates)
• How companies are gutting entry-level roles and what it means for career progression
• Timeless skills AI can't replicate: designing for feeling, problem-solving, mutual learning, vulnerable storytelling, making things fun
• The ingredients of a good prompt, with a worked example (building a personal budget)
• How to use AI for job applications without losing your voice
• Why "pre-work is the work" when using AI well

Journaling prompts:

• For the next two days, notice tasks that drain you. Which one could AI actually help with in a way that would reduce your anxiety or save your time?
• Before using AI on any real task, find two ways to solve the same problem without AI first. Compare, contrast, then prompt.

Books and references mentioned:

• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Gamestorming by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, James Macanufo
• Ari Emanuel on live events vs AI

Subscribe to the newsletter for the full journaling prompts, resources and reflections from each episode: https://substack.com/@untanglinglifepod