Expert says workers can use AI skills to advance and unlock new opportunities

More than two thousand years ago, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus coined the phrase, “Change is the only constant.” That observation has held true since his death, but now the changes are happening even faster, thanks in large part to generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) technology like ChatGPT or Claude. And that makes many employees even more anxious than usual. But there is also good news for people who want to learn.

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Gen-AI takes change to a new level. “It’s coming fast and furious,” says Bentley. “There are so many things that AI can take over.” That makes employees anxious in new ways. People don’t know what changes will take place in the workplace. “There is a lack of predictability,” she says. Gen AI is the branch of artificial intelligence that creates content rather than just analyzing data.

A few years ago, job losses were often due to employee performance. Now it is often the AI ​​that takes over the job. Data from Challenger, Gray and Christmas shows that Gen-AI was directly involved in laying off 54,000 people by 2025. The idea was to have AI do repetitive work, such as data collection. It’s no wonder that about 30% of workers fear losing their jobs if AI agents take over, Bentley said.

Job losses may sound very scary to many people. But the reality is that Gen-AI is here to stay, and there are plenty of reasons to stop worrying.

A General Motors employee is shown on the assembly line at the General Motors Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant on February 21, 2020 in Lansing, Michigan. The plant, which employs more than 2,500, is home to the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enc (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images/Getty Images)

First, investors have poured a lot of money into making AI work. US private and venture capital investments totaled $109 billion. Last year, similar investors raised another $194 billion. Simply put, these investors are betting heavily on the future of AI, and they wouldn’t do so unless they thought it had a solid future.

In the US, 28.3% of the workforce was using generative artificial intelligence, or about 3 in 10 workers in the second half of 2025, according to Microsoft’s AI Economy Institute. The US was well ahead of the average global consumption of 16.3% over the same period.

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Business people at their desks in a busy, open office. Startup business people working in a modern office. (iStock)

While AI has led to layoffs so far, it has also created many new jobs that most of us could never have dreamed of. According to Electro IQ Job Creation Stats, approximately 280,000 new jobs in Gen-AI for humans were created last year. Some of those jobs were for people involved in AI training, data analytics and Gen-AI ethics specialists.

Another positive is that people who work with AI agents are a lot more productive. The amount of work done by humans, assisted by Gen-AI, has changed a lot, says Bentley. But more importantly, employees are now more productive. This is especially beneficial for people without higher education or experience, she says.

ASHBURN, VA – MAY 9: People walk the halls of the Equinix Data Center in Ashburn, Virginia, on May 9, 2024. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post via Getty Images/Getty Images)

In part, that creativity comes to life because people working with AI have to do the thinking. In particular, this means critical thinking, questioning answers and challenging perceived wisdom. “It takes a person,” says Ellerbroek.

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Ellerbroek says the best way to start learning is to use free Gen-AI agents, like the basic version of ChatGPT. With this basic knowledge, the switch to a paid version will be easier. “It’s dramatically better,” he says. “You have to double check the output.”