Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of work. With AI automating so many tasks, the traditional paths we’ve followed, climbing the corporate ladder, optimizing for productivity, and defining success by output, are all starting to feel less relevant. If AI is handling more execution, what does meaningful work look like now?
Rethinking the Purpose of Work
For years, we’ve optimized work for efficiency, assuming that doing more equates to progress. But now, with AI automating many tasks that once required human effort, we’re seeing a shift in what’s considered valuable. Instead of repetitive execution, skills like problem-solving, creativity, and strategic thinking are becoming more important. The assumption has been that if we produce more, we achieve more. But as automation handles more of the execution, what are we actually working toward? Is work supposed to be about mastery, creative expression, service, or something else entirely?
If we remove the need to constantly prove our productivity, does work become more about depth, exploration, and human connection?
Thinking About Career Progression for the First Time
For the first time, I’m thinking about career progression in a structured way. Moving from running my own business to stepping into a corporate role has made me reconsider what growth looks like within an organization. The traditional markers of career success, promotions, pay raises, titles, assume that progress is linear, but what happens as AI and AGI reshape the workforce? But what if careers don’t look like ladders anymore? Are we shifting toward an ecosystem-based model where career growth is defined less by hierarchy and more by adaptability, problem-solving, and integrating new technologies? If AI is taking on more execution, does career progression become about how well we guide, contextualize, and collaborate with AI rather than how much we personally produce?
The people who thrive in the next era of work may not be the ones who climb the highest, but the ones who are the most adaptable, connected, and able to integrate multiple disciplines.
Where Does This Leave Us?
The question I keep coming back to is: what should we be optimizing for?
- Is it about creative fulfillment?
- Is it about impact?
- Is it about structuring work around life instead of the other way around?
I don’t have a clear answer, but I think it’s worth wrestling with. If work is no longer just about output, does it become more about the ability to make decisions, adapt to complexity, and create unique insights that AI can’t replicate? What are the new markers of meaningful work in this shift? What should we actually be working toward?
What do you think work should look like in a world where AI is handling execution?