This post was originally published on this site.
The biggest fear among employees and managers facing the rise of artificial intelligence tools is job loss. And that fear is not unfounded. When Shopify’s CEO tells executives they must prove they “cannot get what they want done using AI” before hiring more staff, and other leaders openly warn that AI might even take their own jobs, the concern feels very real.
We are living through a revolution whose full impact on the workforce is still unclear. Every day brings new AI tools, and there’s constant buzz about AI agents poised to completely transform how we work — but we’re not there yet.
This is a time of transition. No one knows exactly what the workforce will look like in five years, but the changes are already being felt: roles are evolving, new skills are needed, and some tasks are being automated away. Recently, I came across a job posting requiring five years of experience in generative AI — a field that, as we know it, has existed for less than three years since ChatGPT launched. Everything is moving at breakneck speed.
So how can workers prepare for an uncertain future?
To get the best informed guess, I spoke with Michael Costigan, Vice President of Salesforce Futures — the company’s future innovation division — whose job is precisely to think about what the job market and business environment will look like in the years ahead.
From his vantage point, informed by research and simulations, Costigan remains optimistic — and he’s willing to tackle the toughest questions: Will AI replace us? How will our workdays look with AI agents? What will be left for humans to do?
Costigan’s daily job involves shaping internal strategy around AI — an area Salesforce has been working on for over a decade, but one that has undergone a massive shake-up in the last two and a half years due to large language models.
“Salesforce, like every other technology company, has had to deeply adjust to these changes,” he says. His team works on research and strategy projects, consulting both internal experts — like AR and AI research teams — and external thought leaders.
Costigan also meets weekly with Salesforce clients who are eager to hear not just about today’s capabilities, but also the company’s vision for the AI-driven future.
AI won’t just add tools to jobs — it will reshape work itself
According to Costigan, most workers today are simply adding AI tools to existing tasks. But that’s only temporary. Over time, work itself will be redesigned around AI agents.
Already, companies like Adecco — the world’s largest recruiting company — are using Salesforce’s AI agents to sift through millions of CVs and match candidates at a scale previously unimaginable.
“In the long run, AI agents will take over the technical and repetitive parts of work,” Costigan explains. “Humans will focus on what they do best: critical thinking, creativity, understanding context, and making complex decisions.”
It’s hard to imagine what the human role will look like in a world of autonomous AI agents. But Costigan is clear: humans have limitations — we can only process so much information. AI agents, on the other hand, can analyze vast quantities of signals and data in real-time.
“The role of humans isn’t disappearing — it’s evolving,” he says. “Agents will surface information, recommendations, and insights. Humans will use experience, judgment, and intuition to make decisions.”
Even as AI systems improve, humans will remain the gatekeepers — especially to prevent the hallucinations that language models are still prone to. Salesforce, for example, uses retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems and trust layers to detect and neutralize AI errors.
When will AI agents represent us in meetings?
Could an AI agent soon sit in meetings for us and make decisions? “It’s a difficult question to put a timeline on,” Costigan says. AI agents would need deep knowledge of their human counterparts — our priorities, experiences, and decision-making frameworks.
“We’re not there yet,” he says. “Maybe in five years we’ll see early versions, but interpersonal relationships — where humor, intuition, and human nuance come into play — are likely to remain uniquely human for some time.”
Related articles:
While programming and email writing are obvious candidates, Costigan points to something more mundane: scheduling meetings.
“Endless ping-ponging over email or Slack just to find a meeting time is an exhausting, low-intelligence task,” he says. “That’s exactly the kind of job AI will quietly and effectively take over.”
Far from glamorous, this “quiet automation” — removing small, irritating tasks — will likely drive true AI adoption.
If workers want to remain relevant, Costigan’s advice is simple: start playing with AI tools.
“I recommend a basic exercise: write down what you do each day and ask ChatGPT how it can help,” he says. “You’ll be surprised at the insights.”
The goal is to understand what AI can do — and what it can’t. Skills involving human nuance, complex conversation, relationship-building, and creative problem-solving will be more valuable than ever.
“AI won’t necessarily replace you — it will help you grow,” Costigan says. “It will take away repetitive tasks and leave you with what requires wisdom, judgment, and experience.”
Will AI make us lazy? It’s a fair concern: just as GPS apps dulled our map-reading skills, could AI dull critical thinking?
“Maybe. But the bigger question isn’t whether AI will make us lazy,” says Costigan. “It’s what we’ll choose to do with the time it frees up.”
He believes AI won’t make us work less — it will make us more productive. True success will come from reclaiming time for thought, creativity, and complex decision-making.
Because in the end, no agent — no matter how smart — can think for us.