AI isn’t actually ‘taking’ your job. Here’s what’s happening instead

Oh, brilliant. Microsoft has put out a report reassuring us that AI isn’t actually ‘taking’ your job — it’s just ‘changing’ it. Because nothing says ‘don’t panic’ like a trillion-dollar company whose entire business model depends on you trusting its products to not replace you. Alexis Krivkovich, senior partner at McKinsey, chimes in that ‘very few jobs are entirely automated away by current AI and robotics technology.’ Well, that’s a relief. I’m sure the people who’ve already been laid off from customer service, translation, and data entry will be thrilled to hear they’re merely ‘statistically insignificant.’

McKinsey, of course, has form here. But don’t worry — it’s not ‘automation,’ it’s ‘occupational transition.’ And Microsoft’s report is the perfect companion piece: all the soothing language of augmentation and upskilling, none of the messy reality of hiring freezes or gigification. The corporate playbook is so predictable it’s almost quaint: first, sell the AI; then, sell the training to cope with the AI; and finally, sell the consulting to figure out what went wrong.

The real kicker? The word ‘current’ in Krivkovich’s statement. It’s a weasel word big enough to drive a data centre through. Current AI doesn’t automate entire jobs — yet. But the whole point of the tech is that it improves rapidly. Today’s ‘job changing’ is tomorrow’s ‘job eliminating.’ So enjoy your ‘transformation’ while it lasts — and maybe keep that CV updated, just in case your role becomes one of the ‘very few’ that suddenly isn’t so few anymore.