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Is AI Really Taking Our Jobs or Is It Making Us More Valuable?
Everywhere you turn right now, the message is the same: AI is coming for your job.
Engineers are being laid off. Managers are getting cut. Entire roles are being automated. And if you listen to the headlines long enough, it’s easy to believe this is the beginning of the end.
But that’s not the full story.
In this episode of the Money Ripples podcast, I sat down with my longtime friend and former college roommate, Aaron Matthews, a fractional CTO and COO with over 20 years of leadership experience in tech, healthcare, and large-scale transformations. What came out of that conversation wasn’t fear it was clarity.
AI is changing work. But the real question isn’t whether AI is taking jobs.
The real question is whose jobs are being replaced, why it’s happening, and what you can do to stay ahead of it.
Yes, AI Is Replacing Some Jobs and That’s Not New
Let’s get this out of the way: AI is replacing certain roles, especially entry-level and highly repetitive work. Aaron shared real examples of companies hiring fewer junior engineers because AI can already handle much of that workload.
What used to require teams of people can now be done by one person using the right AI tools. That’s disruptive but it’s not unprecedented. Every major technological shift has done this. Automation didn’t eliminate work; it reshaped it.
The difference this time is speed. AI isn’t creeping in slowly. It’s accelerating fast. And that’s why people feel uneasy.
AI Is a Force Multiplier, Not a Replacement
One of the most important ideas Aaron shared is this: AI is a force multiplier.
If you’re a strong performer, AI makes you significantly better.
If you’re an average performer, AI can help you level up.
If you rely on shortcuts and don’t think critically, AI will expose that fast.
Studies back this up. High performers see modest gains using AI. Lower performers see massive gains but only when AI is used correctly. That means AI doesn’t eliminate human value. It amplifies it.
The people who struggle most aren’t the ones losing jobs to AI they’re the ones refusing to learn how to work with it.
Why Human Skills Matter More Than Ever
Here’s the part most people miss.
AI is excellent at handling machinable knowledge facts, patterns, summaries, structure.
What it can’t replace are the distinctly human skills:
- Judgment
- Empathy
- Creativity
- Decision-making
- Critical thinking
- Context
AI can generate ideas, but it can’t determine meaning. It can draft content, but it can’t replace lived experience. It can analyze data, but it can’t fully understand people.
Ironically, as AI advances, being human becomes more valuable, not less.
The Danger of Shortcuts and Shallow Thinking
There is a real risk here, especially for kids and young professionals.
When AI does the heavy lifting, it’s tempting to skip deep thinking. You get answers faster but you don’t always understand them. That loss of deep contemplation matters.
Just like calculators didn’t eliminate math skills but changed how we learn them, AI will require intentional boundaries. We still need to wrestle with ideas, think critically, and develop reasoning muscles.
AI should accelerate thinking not replace it.
Opportunity Is Expanding, Not Shrinking
One of the most exciting takeaways from this conversation is how AI lowers barriers to entry.
You don’t need massive capital, teams, or technical expertise to start building anymore. AI allows individuals to prototype businesses, create content, design systems, and test ideas at a fraction of the cost and time.
This is exactly what digital cameras and YouTube did for media. AI is doing the same thing for business, education, and innovation.
For neurodivergent individuals, AI could become the most powerful personalized learning tool ever created. That’s not something to fear that’s something to steward wisely.
What You Should Do Right Now
If you’re worried about your future, here’s my advice:
- Don’t sit on the sidelines. Start using AI now.
- Pay for the tools. Free versions limit depth and control.
- Stay in the loop. Always review, refine, and think.
- Double-check sources. Never outsource judgment.
- Develop human skills. Empathy, leadership, creativity matter more than ever.
AI is not something you can stop. But you can decide whether it replaces you—or empowers you.
The winners of the next decade won’t be the ones with the best resumes. They’ll be the ones who learn how to combine human insight with machine leverage.
And that combination That’s where real freedom, income, and opportunity are created.
Make it a prosperous week and choose to be part of the change, not afraid of it.