Will AI replace you? Or reveal you?
Why the future of work isn’t about performance—but about self.
I spent the last two decades innovating and building incredible technologies in media entertainment and gaming industry. Leading large teams. Creating strategies. Solving very complex problems. Working with some of the brightest people I’ve met and making really good friends along the way. The people is the most important. The people made all of this possible.
I am really excited by AI adoption but at the same time it pains me to see the impact it has on the job market.
In just the first half of 2025, U.S. tech companies announced over 75,000 job cuts, with major layoffs atIntel, Microsoft, Meta, Google, and more. According to industry trackers more than 62,800 tech jobs have already been eliminated across 141 U.S. firms so far this year. At this rate, it is projected to lose well over 150,000 positions by year’s end. That’s a dramatic reshaping the workforce landscape.
These aren’t isolated cost-cutting moves—they signal a deep structural shift in how companies structure, automate and value work.
But that’s not all. Companies like Microsoft, Salesforce, and IBM are freezing or eliminating entire layers of hiring. Junior engineers, product managers, and entry-level analysts are no longer needed. AI is now replacing these roles. Consistently delivering better and faster. Salesforce has stated it may never hire junior developers again. IBM replaced thousands of HR roles with automation.
These changes aren’t temporary—they’re foundational.
I want to be clear—this isn’t an anti-AI rant. Quite the opposite. I’m amazed by what AI is unlocking. The ability to prototype an idea in minutes. To translate thoughts into visuals, code, music, stories. To collaborate with machines that expand our imagination instead of limiting it. We’ve never had access to this much power, this much possibility. For many, AI has reignited a creative fire that had long gone dormant. It’s a renaissance of making—and I celebrate that.
I myself develop a lot of tools with AI agents and love it.
But…
I have two young girls and I wonder what the future holds for them too.
So what does that mean to those impacted and those who will be soon impacted as AI adoption accelerates and spreads across many industries?
The options are narrowing
There aren’t many paths to move forward. Some of them seem more risky than others. One appears obvious to me….
1. Find the same job elsewhere.
But as AI continues to absorb repetitive and predictable tasks at the speed of light. Those openings are shrinking. It's becoming clear that there will be no way back. It’s only a matter of time before that same role disappears altogether.
2. Learn to use AI and try to stay ahead.
This is where most people are heading. But we’ve already seen: becoming more efficient with AI is not a guarantee of security. It’s a short-term strategy in a race that humans will eventually lose. It can also a steep learning curve, even if the tools are becoming more and more user friendly.
3. Switch careers entirely.
Changing fields might seem like the obvious move—but again, it's not a guaranty of security. Many industries that feel “safe” today are already in AI’s path. From marketing to finance to design, or even legal, automation is expanding faster than most career pivots can keep up with.
Even entrepreneurship, once seen as the ultimate safe haven, isn’t immune. AI tools are now building products, writing copy, , reviewing contracts, generating code, and making strategic decisions—meaning even solopreneurs will feel the pressure to compete with machines. If you look at content creators, AI gave an edge to some but very quickly everyone is catching up and now we are flooded with AI generated content.
So while switching careers may offer short-term relief, without a deeper reorientation, we risk landing in yet another soon-to-be-obsolete role.
4. Opt out the system
This is always an option… For some. But I like to believe we are meant for more. That we are meant to serve our communities the best we can.
5. Refocus on developing deeply human skills.
This is where I truly believe the future is.
These are the capacities machines can’t replace—and the ones becoming increasingly essential in every domain. Not because they’re new, but because they’re becoming newly indispensable.
Emotional intelligence, creativity, presence, and ethical discernment aren’t just for healers and facilitators—they’re needed in boardrooms, product teams, classrooms, and communities.
They’re what allow us to guide collaboration, hold complexity, and make sense of what AI can’t feel.
Whether you lead a team, design experiences, build systems, create content or support others—you will need human skills to do it well.
And unlike technical tools, these are not downloaded. They are cultivated.
I can sound alarming but to me this moment is not just an ending.
It’s an inflection point—a great opportunity, if we choose to see it.
Stop Competing With AI. Start Becoming More Human.
The first instinct when facing AI disruption is to adapt—to learn the tools, improve our workflows, become more efficient. Many of us are racing to keep our relevance by learning to use AI before we’re replaced by it.
We mentioned earlier the wave of AI generated content. And to be honest it’s an amazing thing that anyone can vibe code an app with not much technical or coding knowledge. I have many friends that discovered a new passion through it. It’s amazing how we can now execute ideas with AI when before it seemed like climbing a mountain. We don’t need to know how to code, we don’t need to know how to draw, how to shoot a video, how to write…. We just need to know the “what”.
But here’s the truth:
Even learning to master AI tools won’t guarantee long-term relevance if we’re still clinging to outdated roles, identities, and definitions of value. It won’t help us know the “what”. Or even have a great “what”.
We need to let go—not just of the race to keep up, but of the deeper illusion that becoming more efficient with AI will get us there faster. Faster career growth, faster financial growth, faster status growth…. It won’t and many will hit a wall.
The longer we hold on, the harder the letting go becomes.
We need to let go of those ways.
Step out of a game that no longer serves us—and choosing to play a different one entirely.
The Real Work: Developing Durable Human Skills
These changes aren’t just about automation. They’re not just about today’s AI tools replacing repetitive tasks. We’re entering a new era—one that includes the rapid development of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and, eventually, ASI (Artificial Super-Intelligence). This isn’t a temporary wave of disruption. It’s a fundamental redefinition of how intelligence operates in the world—and how human contribution is valued. The systems we built to assist us are quickly becoming systems that can outperform us. The question isn’t whether this will continue. It’s how we choose to respond.
AI is no longer just automating tasks—it’s simulating creativity, processing language, making decisions, and even mimicking empathy. It’s getting better at being useful, persuasive, and fast.
But usefulness isn’t care.
Persuasion isn’t wisdom.
Speed isn’t presence.
And this is where humans still matter most.
If AI is mastering functionality, fluency, and pattern recognition—what remains distinctly human?
What still cannot be automated—no matter how advanced the model—is our ability to connect, to feel, to hold, and to lead with embodied presence.
And while AI can generate content, remix ideas, and optimize aesthetics, human creativity is visionary. It emerges not just from data—but from emotion, intuition, struggle, and lived experience. It’s the force behind art, healing, invention, storytelling, and the radical imagining of new worlds.
These human capacities aren’t just “nice to have.” They are becoming urgently essential—especially in these critical areas:
Self-Leadership and Inner Navigation
The ability to lead yourself is foundational. AI won’t regulate your nervous system. It won’t help you make meaning of purpose. Only you can do that.
Human-AI Collaboration
As AI becomes integrated into every field, our role is shifting from operator to orchestrator. We will need to apply discernment in complex, ambiguous contexts, sk better questions, ensure technology remains aligned with human values
Supporting Our Communities
We will still turn to humans in moments of transition, grief, celebration, and growth. Nothing can replace that.
We’ll need people who can hold space for discomfort, emergence. People who can facilitate real dialogue, mediate conflict. Lead not from control but from relational depth.
AI can simulate—but never inhabit. Because only humans and animals alike can co-regulate nervous systems, model vulnerability, and inspire trust through presence.
Embodiment and Healing
AI operates in the abstract. Humans live in bodies. And the body carries wisdom that can’t be replicated through code.
Touch, breath, emotion, trauma release, and intuitive knowing are fundamental to human well-being and growth. Practitioners, facilitators, and guides who help others reconnect with their bodies and integrate life experiences are doing the very work that keeps humanity whole. AI can simulate but again, what it cannot do is co-regulate with other nervous systems.
In a time when disconnection is rampant, embodied presence becomes sacred.
Reimagining the Future
The world doesn’t just need technicians. It needs visionaries.
People who can feel what's missing.
People who can dream outside the system.
People who can lead from within, not just react from without.
AI might help us build faster. But it takes humans to ask: “What are we building for?”
Inner Work Is No Longer Optional
These skills don’t emerge or develop from tutorials. You don’t download them into your nervous system. They arise when you do the real work: facing your patterns, questioning your narratives, and reconnecting with your own humanity.
But how can we pivot quickly and catchup when things are moving so fast. When technology is evolving at a pace that we have never seen before?
Traditional methods—therapy, meditation, journaling—are powerful, but slow. It can take years to process trauma, reclaim creativity, or rediscover purpose.
AI is not waiting. And neither can we.
Plant Medicine: A Catalyst for Inner Acceleration
What if there were tools that could accelerate the process of becoming fully human?
Psychedelic plant medicines—when held with intention, safety, and skill—can catalyze breakthroughs that might otherwise take years to reach. They bring us face-to-face with our inner landscape: the wounds, the wisdom, the truth we’ve buried.
I work with psychedelic cannabis, breathwork, music, and integration practices to help people reconnect with their emotional depth, vision, and creative potential.
These journeys don’t just offer insight—they help create embodied change:
Releasing limiting narratives and internal noise
Rewiring fear-based responses
Reclaiming purpose, confidence, and creative expression
Reconnecting to the body, the breath, and the moment
This is not about escape—it’s about accelerating.
Because in times of rapid external change, we need equally rapid internal evolution.
What Does This Inner Work Make Possible?
When we shift from chasing relevance to focusing on deepening our humanity, the path doesn’t shrink—it widens. Inner work isn’t just healing—it’s unlocking capacity. It clears the noise, provides clarity and alignment. It makes us available for more meaningful possibilities.
Here’s what becomes available:
Authentic Contribution
You stop performing for roles that no longer fit—and start offering your gifts where they’re truly needed. Whether it's through mentorship, facilitation, design, healing, leadership, or collaboration—you begin to create from alignment, not from a place of survival.
Meaningful Relationships
Emotional intelligence, presence, and self-awareness transform how you relate. You build trust, navigate complexity, and lead with integrity. These skills aren’t just good for work—they're how movements are built, teams are healed, and cultures evolve.
Clear Direction
Inner work dissolves confusion. You begin to listen to yourself beneath the noise. With clarity of values and vision, you’re no longer chasing trends—you’re creating from something rooted and real.
New Kinds of Work
You’ll see opportunities where others see chaos. New roles are emerging:
Human-AI collaboration strategists
Ethical designers and facilitators
Conscious creators and regenerative entrepreneurs
These aren’t just jobs—they’re callings that demand depth, discernment, and emotional range.
Peace in Uncertainty
Most importantly, you gain the ability to be centered—even when the ground shifts under your feet. That presence becomes your superpower. Because in this new age, the most valuable currency will be the human who can feel, connect, and lead through the unknown.
Resilience
You develop the inner strength to adapt to change, and recover from setbacks without losing your center. Like a friend of mine likes to say “you stop bouncing back, you bounce forward”.
This Isn’t About Outpacing AI.
It’s About Reclaiming Our Humanity.
The age of AI is not a threat to humanity.
It’s a mirror, asking us: What do you offer that no machine can?
The answer isn’t performance. It’s presence.
It’s not optimization. It’s essence.
Let go of the race to stay relevant.
Turn inward.
Because becoming more human is not a luxury anymore—
it’s the future’s most urgent invitation.
And that should become our step 1….
Ben Piret is the founder of Kinesthesia, a conscious leadership development company helping creators, founders, and visionaries develop the human skills AI can’t replace—through plant medicine, inner work, and embodied leadership practices.
kinesthesia.com