AI at work: Redefining jobs, skills, and human connection

Doha, Qatar: Artificial Intelligence is redefining the world of work in profound ways. But when he spoke at Qatar Foundation’s Education City Speaker Series, Mo Gawdat offered reassurance to those who fear a technological takeover of the workplace: “AI will reshape roles, but should not wipe out entire industries or regional economies.” The former Chief Business Officer at Google X and bestselling author, insists that the narrative of AI as a destroyer of jobs is misguided. For him, the real challenge lies in inequality: “We have a shortage of workers, not jobs; the real issue is wages and income inequality.” His perspective reframes the debate, suggesting that the danger is not automation itself, but how society values human labour. Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and a Teaching Professor of Computer Science at Qatar Foundation (QF) partner university Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), Dr. Khaled Harras adds to this perspective. He acknowledges that some fears are valid, saying: “The reality is that some of that fear is justified because many jobs will indeed be replaced.” However, he emphasises that the bigger issue is readiness. “Our current workforce isn’t fully equipped to integrate this rapidly evolving AI ecosystem to become more effective,” he says, “creating a contradiction where younger employees may skip foundational skills while seasoned experts resist new tools.” This tension highlights the need for balanced adaptation, and efficiency gains are already visible. As Dr. Harras points out: “AI provides much more effective access to distilled information and data. It creates a massive gain in efficiency for mundane human activities such as summarising emails, drafting slides, coding, and media production.” These advances lower barriers to entry, allowing workers to accelerate through tasks that once consumed hours. But Gawdat reminds us that human qualities remain central, “Technological change can create opportunities for emotional intelligence over formal credentials. AI is not replacing human connection; it is amplifying the need for it.” The World Economic Forum predicts over a billion jobs will be transformed in the coming decade, and Dr. Harras explains what this means. “Job transformation means the expected set of skills must evolve, and workflows will become increasingly AI-assisted,” he explains. “For an expert, AI becomes a ‘peer’ that handles the mundane lifting, allowing the human to focus on curation, creativity, and finding that specific spin or angle.” As Gawdat says: “AI isn’t coming for your job, someone who knows how to use it is. The reality is that the jobs themselves will not disappear, but the way they are performed will change dramatically. “What we will see is not mass unemployment, but a filtering process where the least adaptable workers lose out, and those who embrace AI thrive in newly transformed roles.” Dr. Harras also raises regional concerns, noting that the Middle East has opportunities to leapfrog legacy systems but faces risks of ‘digital sovereignty’ if nations rely too heavily on external AI providers. “If a nation doesn’t invest in its own AI capacity, its entire functionality becomes reliant on external entities like OpenAI or Anthropic,” he says. “This is a new form of economic dominance where a country’s functioning could effectively be guided by an external company’s decision.” Ultimately, both Dr. Harras and Gawdat return to the human dimension. “The future of work is not about fewer jobs, but about better jobs,” Gawdat says. Dr. Harras echoes the same sentiment, “We must adapt, not just in how we work, but in how we define meaning itself. We must reimagine our economies and our systems of governance, anchoring them in human connection, empathy, and our deepest values. “And as the digital world becomes more complex, we must hold even more firmly to our humanity, reminding ourselves that progress is only meaningful when it serves people and uplifts human well-being.”