Key points
- Experts say reskilling is essential
- AI complements more than it replaces
- History shows tech disruption creates jobs
ISLAMABAD: Ahmed is at his small desk in Peshawar, scrolling through job descriptions with increasing fear. All advertisements require AI, cloud automation, or machine learning, which he has not mastered completely. He sighs. He sighs. “I feel like I’m not competing with other graduates,” he says, “but with algorithms that never sleep.”
In Lahore, meanwhile, Tahir Khan, a new graduate in computer science, experiences the pressure even more tangible. “My professors keep saying AI will take entry-level jobs,” he shares. “I worry I’m already too late.”
Their anxieties are not unfounded. Research indicates that as many as 30 per cent of existing jobs in the US could be completely automated by 2030, and 60 per cent of jobs will have their tasks transformed by AI.
Alarming stats
Up to 300 million jobs may be lost globally, which is more than 9 per cent of all jobs in the world. In the US and Europe, two-thirds of the jobs are at risk of automation by AI, and about a quarter of them may be completely automated.
Another study also concludes that 47 per cent of the US workers are in danger in the next decade.
Experts reject AI job doom
However, this is not a job apocalypse for all experts. Google CEO Sundar Pichai positions AI as an augmentation rather than a replacement: “The future of AI is not about replacing humans, it’s about augmenting human capabilities.”
Ginni Rometty, former IBM CEO, adds, “AI will not replace humans, but those who use AI will replace those who don’t.”
The Director-General of the International Labour Organization assured at Davos 2024 that he does not think that AI will bring about an employment apocalypse. He said that millions of jobs will be lost and millions will be created, calling on reskilling and lifelong learning.
Not replaced by AI
Even the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, finds something positive, at least for the youth. Although he admits that AI will kill jobs, he claims that college graduates are the most fortunate children in the history of the world. He cautions that the older workers might not adapt, yet he sees a lot of potential in the flexible young people.
That optimism is personified by third-year software intern Asia Kiran. Based in Islamabad, she’s already using AI tools to build prototypes—and can’t hide her enthusiasm. “AI helps me work faster, smarter,” she says. “It’s like having a super-charged assistant. I feel ready for the future.” Her confidence echoes Pichai’s vision of AI strengthening human creativity, not weakening it.
Human deskilling
There are voices of caution, though. A less obvious danger, which is pointed out by the CEO of Mistral AI, Arthur Mensch, is deskilling. With AI replacing information search and summarization, individuals can cease to think critically. It is a risk, he said at a recent tech conference, you keep the human active.
And history tells us of technological fears of the past. At the time when the automobile was first introduced, people were afraid that it would make coach builders, carriage drivers, and society as a whole obsolete. Rather, the auto industry generated millions of new jobs, including mechanics, road engineers, and assembly-line workers. Today’s anxieties resemble those of the industrial era—real, but overcome.
Fear fades fast
A recent New Yorker article draws parallels between today’s AI anxieties and the Luddites—skilled textile workers who protested mechanization. Ultimately, technological transformation reshaped labor, often expanding opportunity in the long run, according to The New Yorker. Similarly, PwC’s 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer finds that AI can make workers more valuable—even in automatable roles PwC.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics supports this optimistic observation: employment of software developers is expected to increase by 17.9 per cent between 2023 and 2033, compared to an average of 4 per cent in all occupations. There is also a high growth that is expected to be experienced by database administrators and architects.
Skills shift
In fact, AI is not just eliminating jobs, it is transforming the skills requirement. An analysis of millions of job openings in the US between 2018 and 2023 reveals that the AI-complementary skills of digital literacy, teamwork, and resilience are in high demand. These complementary skills are up to 50 times greater than substitution effects, which leads to a net positive demand for human skills.
So where does that leave Ahmed, Tahir, Asia, and a million others?
Ahmed leans forward, pushing aside fear. “Maybe,” he reflects, “I need to stop competing with robots and start learning to work with them.” Tahir nods, though still anxious: “I’ll sign up for online AI courses tonight.”
Asia smiles, already sketching her next project. “I’m not just safe—I’m excited.”
In their uncertainty, there is resolve: any generation offered disruption also receives new tools and chances to adapt. Just as cars once created new industries, AI can spur new roles—creative, empathetic, strategic—where humans excel.
They may be the first to compete with robots—but they might also be the first to thrive alongside them.
