AI is after your tasks, not your job

Wednesday, 10 September 2025

Artificial intelligence might not take your job outright, but it could quietly take over the work.

At the Tech Summit in Christchurch, futurist Mark Pesce told a packed audience it’s time to stop waiting and start adapting. His advice? Don’t panic — but get ready.

AI is not coming for every job, Pesce said. But it’s already reshaping the way people work, especially in office-based roles. Tasks are disappearing, even if the job title stays the same.

“You’re not going to be fired,” he told the audience. “It’s just that the work might not be there any more.”

So how do you protect yourself?

You don’t need to become a programmer. But you do need to figure out what makes your work human, and double down on it.

Why this matters now

AI isn’t on the horizon, it’s already here. From customer-service chatbots to scheduling tools, meeting note-takers and automated writing assistants, artificial intelligence is creeping into everyday work. In many cases, it boosts productivity. In others, it replaces it.

Pesce pointed out that this shift is especially pronounced in white-collar jobs, and the threat isn’t always visible.

“It’s not that you’re going to be replaced by a machine,” he said. “It’s that all of a sudden, there’s not going to be any work there.”

This version of automation is quieter than what happened in factories or on farms. There’s no machinery on the floor. Just fewer hours, fewer tasks, and fewer opportunities, especially in roles that rely heavily on writing, organising or processing information.

So what can you do about it?

How to AI‑proof your job

The key, according to Pesce, is to find the parts of your work that are hardest to automate, and do more of those.

Think about what you actually do each day. Not just “admin” or “sales” or “support”, but the specific things: writing reports, responding to emails, taking bookings, fixing problems, calming clients, planning rosters. Once you’ve listed your tasks, ask yourself: could AI already do this?

Chances are, some of it can. Tools like ChatGPT can draft documents, Gmail can finish your sentences, Canva can design your posters, and transcription apps can write up your notes. But it’s the parts AI can’t do that you need to pay attention to, because that’s where your future lies.

Pesce calls this process “finding the most human parts” of your job. That means the work that takes empathy, judgment, timing, intuition or real-world experience – the stuff that doesn’t follow a script.

For him, that includes things like adding humour to a speech, telling personal stories, reading the room and knowing what will resonate. For someone else, it might mean calming a nervous customer, guiding a confused colleague, or picking the right time to raise a tough issue.

“I had to ask myself, what is it that I do that a machine can’t do?” Pesce said. “The more that you can emphasise the human elements in your work, the more resistant you will be to automation.”

If you can identify those moments in your own job – the parts where you feel most needed, not just most efficient – then that’s your edge.

The point, Pesce said, isn’t to work harder, it’s to lean into the parts of your job that take empathy, timing, judgment and nuance.

The paradox of AI

Pesce calls it a paradox: the more capable AI becomes, the more human we need to be.

“We think that AI is basically going to replace us with machines,” he said. “In fact, what it’s doing is it’s forcing us into a corner that allows us to be the best humans we can.”

As artificial intelligence gets better at completing tasks, people need to focus more on connection, interpretation, and meaning. The value of your work isn’t just in how fast you do it, it’s in how well you understand what’s needed.

For workers, this may mean redefining what it means to be “skilled”. It’s no longer just about technical ability. It’s about soft skills, emotional intelligence, adaptability – the things that aren’t easy to replicate.