Araz Gholami

I recently watched my neighbor’s kid teaching their smart speaker to tell better jokes. The speaker kept missing the mark, and the kid kept refining the prompt, determined to get it right. That’s when it hit me: this generation isn’t afraid of AI—they’re shaping it.

We’re not in a race against AI. We’re in a dance with it. And like any good dance, it’s all about knowing your steps.

The Great Task Redistribution

Remember when everyone freaked out about calculators making math skills obsolete? Yeah, that didn’t happen. Instead, calculators freed us to focus on higher-level problem-solving. That’s exactly what’s happening now, just on a much bigger scale.

AI isn’t replacing jobs wholesale—it’s redistributing tasks. The boring stuff, the repetitive stuff, the stuff we all pretend to enjoy but secretly hate? That’s what AI is taking off our plates.

But here’s the thing: tasks aren’t jobs. Jobs are bundles of tasks held together by something uniquely human: judgment, creativity, and the ability to know when to break the rules.

The New Rules of the Game

Here’s how to stay ahead in this rapidly evolving landscape:

1. Become an AI Whisperer

The people who thrive won’t be the ones competing with AI—they’ll be the ones who know how to make AI dance. Learn prompt engineering. Understand AI’s strengths and weaknesses. Become fluent in asking the right questions.

I spent a week using AI for every possible task in my workflow. Know what I discovered? AI is terrible at knowing what matters. It can generate 100 ideas in seconds, but it can’t tell you which one will resonate with actual humans. That’s your superpower.

2. Double Down on Human Skills

While everyone else is learning to code (which AI is getting better at by the day), focus on the skills that AI can’t touch:

• Emotional intelligence
• Ethical judgment
• Cultural awareness
• Creative synthesis
• Strategic thinking
• Interpersonal negotiation

These aren’t soft skills—they’re survival skills.

3. Build Your Judgment Muscle

AI can process information, but it can’t make wisdom calls. Start keeping a “judgment journal.” Every day, write down one decision you made that required uniquely human insight. What factors did you consider? What subtle cues influenced your choice?

This practice isn’t just self-reflection—it’s training for your competitive advantage.

The Counterintuitive Truth

Here’s what nobody’s talking about: AI is making human skills more valuable, not less. In a world where technical tasks can be automated, the ability to be deeply, authentically human becomes a premium skill.

I recently spoke with a lawyer who now uses AI for legal research and document review. Instead of putting her out of business, it’s allowed her to take on more cases and spend more time doing what she loves: understanding her clients’ needs and crafting creative solutions to complex problems.

Your AI Survival Toolkit

Develop T-shaped expertise

• Deep knowledge in one area
• Broad understanding of many
• The ability to connect dots AI might miss

Master the art of asking questions

• AI gives answers
• Humans know what to ask
• The quality of your questions determines the quality of AI’s assistance

Build your human network

• AI can’t network
• AI can’t build trust
• Your relationships are your safety net

Embrace continuous unlearning

• Let go of outdated skills
• Adapt to new realities
• Stay flexible in your thinking

The Plot Twist

The real threat isn’t AI taking your job. It’s other humans who are better at working with AI taking your job. The good news? You’re already ahead of the game just by reading this.

Your Next Steps

1. Start small: Pick one repetitive task in your workflow and learn how to automate it with AI
2. Join communities discussing AI in your field
3. Practice explaining complex ideas to different audiences
4. Develop your emotional intelligence through deliberate practice
5. Learn the basics of prompt engineering

The AI age isn’t something that’s happening to us—it’s something we’re actively shaping. Every time you interact with AI, you’re teaching it. Every time you choose not to use AI for a task, you’re defining the boundaries of human value.

The future belongs to those who understand that AI isn’t a replacement for human intelligence—it’s an extension of it. Like any tool, its value lies not in what it can do, but in how we use it.

Remember my neighbor’s kid? They’re not just teaching a smart speaker to tell better jokes. They’re learning how to shape technology to serve human needs. That’s the skill we all need to cultivate.

The AI age is here. And contrary to the doomsayers, it’s not the end of human relevance—it’s a renaissance of human potential.

What will you do with yours?