What happened to jobs when spreadsheets and cloud computing became widespread?

Companies did not hire fewer finance professionals after spreadsheets became commonplace; instead, they started running analyses that would have been impossible before. Similarly, when cloud computing made software cheaper to build, companies built more software. The author expects AI to follow the same pattern.

What kinds of jobs are unlikely to disappear soon because of AI?

Jobs where trust is the product, such as enterprise and B2B sales, are likely to persist. These relationships are built slowly over time, and the job involves being the person someone calls when something breaks or a deadline slips—not something companies are expected to hand over to AI anytime soon.

What specific hiring practices did the author observe in his AI company?

The author's strongest hires at Cognitiv were people who could adapt easily without panicking, learned quickly, communicated clearly, and stayed useful as circumstances changed. They were people who loved to learn and had mastered more than one area—engineers who had done more than write code, strategists who understood technology, and people who could connect ideas across disciplines and work well under pressure.

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To survive AI job shifts, build skills across disciplines—not narrow expertise

Fortune AI3h ago4 min read

Key takeaway

As AI reshapes the job market, narrow technical expertise alone is becoming less valuable than the ability to work across multiple disciplines and adapt to change. The author, who built an AI company starting in 2015, argues that AI will follow the pattern of previous technology shifts—companies will do more of the same work, not less, creating new roles. Jobs built on trust, like enterprise sales, are likely to persist, while hiring will increasingly favor people who combine technical skill with other areas like creativity or strategy and who can solve problems under uncertainty.

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3 Key Points

What happened
A commentary piece argues that AI will not eliminate work overall but will reshape it, following the same pattern as past technology shifts (spreadsheets, cloud computing). The author, who built an AI company starting in 2015 when such roles barely existed, emphasizes that the strongest hires were people who learned quickly, communicated clearly, and mastered more than one area—engineers who did more than write code, strategists who understood technology, and people who could connect ideas across disciplines.
Why it matters
Companies do not stop doing analysis, creating products, or experimenting when technology lowers costs; they do more of it. New roles emerge in the process. The piece suggests that people trying to predict which specific jobs AI will replace are asking the wrong question. Instead, jobs involving trust—such as enterprise and B2B sales, where relationships are built slowly over time—are likely to persist, and hiring will favor people who can move across disciplines and solve problems under uncertainty.
What to watch
The author cites a concrete example: a recent graduate with a double major in art and computer science was hired immediately by Tencent for League of Legends work because the combination of tech and creativity was invaluable as a hedge against AI changes, whereas sole computer science majors in the same cohort struggled to find jobs.

FAQ

What happened to jobs when spreadsheets and cloud computing became widespread?: Companies did not hire fewer finance professionals after spreadsheets became commonplace; instead, they started running analyses that would have been impossible before. Similarly, when cloud computing made software cheaper to build, companies built more software. The author expects AI to follow the same pattern.
What kinds of jobs are unlikely to disappear soon because of AI?: Jobs where trust is the product, such as enterprise and B2B sales, are likely to persist. These relationships are built slowly over time, and the job involves being the person someone calls when something breaks or a deadline slips—not something companies are expected to hand over to AI anytime soon.
What specific hiring practices did the author observe in his AI company?: The author's strongest hires at Cognitiv were people who could adapt easily without panicking, learned quickly, communicated clearly, and stayed useful as circumstances changed. They were people who loved to learn and had mastered more than one area—engineers who had done more than write code, strategists who understood technology, and people who could connect ideas across disciplines and work well under pressure.

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