AI · Work
Will AI take my job?
AI changes tasks before it erases professions. Those who learn to use it in their own work tend to gain ground. Here's what to do starting today.
bairogonzalez.com team, drawing on Bairo's story · Published
The honest answer is: no one knows exactly which jobs will exist ten years from now, and anyone who swears otherwise is guessing. What's already visible is a pattern. Artificial intelligence changes tasks long before it erases entire professions. Jobs made only of repetitive text, copying or calculation tasks are more exposed. Jobs that involve relationships with people, judgment, care, physical presence and responsibility change more slowly. And, in almost every field, those who learn to use AI in their own work tend to gain ground over those who stand still.
The fear is legitimate. But fear that stands still becomes paralysis; fear with a plan becomes preparation.
Why AI is not a chatbot
If you picture AI as a robot that will one day sit in your chair, the fear makes total sense. But there's another way to look at it: AI as a tool you bring into your work, the way people once brought in the calculator, the computer and the phone.
In Bairo's view, "artificial intelligence is an extension of the human, not the problem." He sees AI as an extension of you, not your replacement. For him, what defines each worker's future isn't the tool, but what each person decides to do with it.
Step by step today
- List your tasks, not your job title. The title is a name; what changes are the tasks. Write down everything you do in a week.
- Ask for an honest reading of your role:
I work as [role] at [type of company]. My tasks for the
week are: [list them]. Sort them into three groups: what AI already does well,
what it helps with but needs someone reviewing, and what depends
on people. Be realistic, without scaring me and without fooling me.
- Start using AI on the first group. Those who automate their own repetitive tasks free up time for what's more valuable, and show their boss they know how to use the tool.
- Strengthen the third group. Customer relationships, negotiation, care, teaching, skilled manual work, decision-making. These are skills that can be trained.
- Make a 90-day learning plan:
I want to stay relevant as [role] in the coming years.
Put together a 90-day plan, 30 minutes a day, for me
to learn to use AI in my work and strengthen the skills
it doesn't replace. Point me to free, reliable courses.
- Look for free courses. Public technical schools, Sebrae, programs run by technology companies and open course platforms offer AI training at no cost. Check the institution before signing up.
- Tell people what you've learned. On your résumé, on LinkedIn, in conversations with your boss: say which tasks you use AI for and how much time you save.
- Think about a plan B without panic. If your role is highly exposed, ask:
I have experience in [field] and these skills: [list them]. What
other nearby professions use these skills and are
growing? What would I need to learn to get there?
How Bairo did it
Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez knows the fear of losing the ground beneath you. A Colombian immigrant, he arrived in Brazil in 2002 and says that, after leaving the company that brought him, he lived through hard years, with no direction and no network. He started over many times, always learning something he didn't know before.
The turn with technology came when he decided to learn what seemed impossible for someone without technical training. He spent six months at home, in front of the computer, without knowing how to code, and built the foundation of the platform and the artificial intelligence of CEASA Bank, a financial platform for agribusiness. In his view, the last generation of humans who grew up without AI and the first generation of AI are meeting right now, and whoever is alive at that meeting has the chance to choose which side of the bridge to work on.
Precautions
When using AI at work, follow your company's rules: don't paste internal documents, customer data or passwords into unauthorized tools; check everything you deliver under your name; don't use AI to give medical or legal opinions outside your competence; and remember that automated résumé and performance assessments can carry prejudice; if you believe a system treated you unfairly, Brazil's General Data Protection Law (LGPD) guarantees the right to request a review of decisions made solely by a machine.