Will AI Take Your Job? Why Fear Is Rising—and What You Can Do About It

Americans are more anxious than ever about AI replacing human work.

Unless you have been hiding under your desk or workstation, you probably aleady know that there is real anxiety and palpable fear about the prospects of AI "taking your job in the next few months up to the next few years." This is a phenomenon that is striking young professionals as well as seasoned pros. The question is: what are you going to do about it?

71% of Americans Are Afraid

A recent Reuters/ipsos poll shows that 71% of Americans fear that AI will cause permanent job loss now or in the future. That means that nearly 3 out of 4 workers are concerned about AI in their workplace. Researchers, educators, doctors, and technicians. The span of fields this covers is massive. If you are one of those people who is worried that the end of the job market is coming for you, know that you are not alone.

It makes you wonder about the 29% of professionals, like me, who are not worried about AI coming for their jobs. What do we know that you don't, and what can we educate you on regarding the benefits of an AI-enabled workplace, rather than dreading it? Let's talk about it.

What's Driving the Fear?

Five Generations in the Workplace: I recently heard that we have up to five generations all working in the same environment at this point, which is almost unfathomable. In previous decades, you might have a percentage of overlap between the "elder statesmen" of the office environment rubbing shoulders with the "up and comers," but now, with so much generational diversity in the workplace, it is complicating what we think of as a "career span" or how we can continue to be relevant in our career paths longterm.

Workplace Wellness: Sociologists and Occupational Psychologists who have been studying the effects of workplace wellness have known that the "fear of someone else losing their job" has a negative impact on the organization as a whole. There is a pervasive effect on how the culture or symbiosis of a company can be upended by the fear of loss of job security and retention that is contagious.

The Role of Messaging

There Are Jobs Being Erased: There is an astonishing amount of clickbait produced for social media with headlines promising that there are categories of jobs and career paths that will end by the end of the year. Many of these articles are hyperbolic in nature and should be taken as fact. Economists make predictions based on models and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates variations in the job market, but these are far from "facts on the ground," as they say.

For example, the BLS is suggesting that there will be decreased need for Insurance appraisers and credit analysts as AI comes on board. That does not mean that folks in those roles will be shut out of the future of work, but instead, they might need to update or tweak their skillset to find new roles to fill in those same fields.

AI-Experts Predicting Calamity: The other aspect of this that puts fear into the hearts of working-class people is the trove of AI-experts who are predicting the worst possible outcomes for humanity, due to the incredible power of AI. One of the most prolific examples of this is Geoffrey Hinton, who has been making the rounds. Hinton is considered "the Godfather of AI" due to his early contributions to the field, which are credible and important. However, his claim. that there is a "10 to 20 percent chance AI will lead to human extinction" might be overblown.

We have been living under the constant threat of nuclear-self annihilation for a very long time and we have managed to keep that in check, at least for now. There willl always be a chance that something super-imposing could be a risk to our way of life, but honestly, we are more of a threat to each other than AI is to us as a species.

Why This Matters

Fear has its own gravity. If we let it, it can pull whole organizations, even entire industries, into paralysis. When workers feel threatened, they become less engaged, less creative, and less willing to take the risks that drive innovation. That’s not just bad for individuals—it’s bad for business.

The irony is that AI itself isn’t out to destroy jobs; people’s relationship with it determines whether it becomes a tool for growth or a wedge of division. If you approach AI as a competitor, you’ll always be playing defense. If you treat it as a collaborator, suddenly it becomes leverage.

Augmentation, Not Elimination

Look closely at how AI is being applied today. In healthcare, doctors aren’t being replaced by chatbots—they’re using AI to sort imaging scans faster so they can spend more time with patients. In marketing, teams aren’t losing all their copywriters—they’re using AI to streamline research, generate drafts, and test campaigns more efficiently. In finance, algorithms don’t cancel out analysts—they give them sharper data and more time for higher-level strategy.

The pattern is consistent: the humans who adapt and learn to direct AI come out stronger. The ones who resist, waiting for the storm to pass, risk being left behind.

From Anxiety to Agency

So what can you do about it?

• Upskill: Commit to learning the digital tools that are shaping your industry. Even small steps—like experimenting with an AI writing assistant, analytics dashboard, or project management tool—expand your comfort zone.

• Lean into what machines can’t do: Empathy, trust, creativity, relationship-building—these are human differentiators that get more valuable, not less, in an AI-driven market.

• Reframe your mindset: Instead of asking “Will AI take my job?” start asking “How can I use AI to do my job better?”

The Opportunity Ahead

Remember: every major technological leap has come with predictions of mass unemployment, from the printing press to the personal computer. In nearly every case, new industries, roles, and opportunities emerged alongside the disruption. AI is no different.

The question is not whether AI will change work—it already has. The question is whether you’ll change with it.

And if you do, you may find that AI doesn’t take your job at all. It may just give you the freedom to do the parts of your job that matter most.