Professionals have taught for generations that succeeding in school and attending an elite university would guarantee a rewarding six-figure career. But within a matter of years, AI has disrupted the world of work, and it’s fast taking over the office roles humans were once promised. Now, venture capitalist Bill Gurley cautions workers against blindly following the career blueprint.
“This is new and fast, and it’s attacking jobs that haven’t been attacked in the past,” Gurley said recently during the On with Kara Swisher podcast. “It’s creating a lot of anxiety, but I don’t know that we can put it back in the bottle.”
The prolific tech financier, famous for his early investments in Uber and Zillow, is skeptical that the government could pass AI regulation or pull off a massive reskilling effort. So as the technology continues to automate traditionally stable and lucrative roles, like lawyers and software engineers, it’s imperative that workers actually be invested in their profession—or risk facing the chopping block.
“The people that are most at risk are the ones that are sitting idly in the job and don’t really have a why or a purpose for it,” Gurley revealed. “A lot of the people that go through that college conveyor belt, that are chasing a safe job, that end up working as a widget or a cog in an industry they may not love—I think they are ripe for disruption.”
