How AI May Change Jobs and How Workers Can Prepare

AI can speed up some tasks, but its effects on jobs, pay and workers are still uncertain and may not be shared equally.

Tech & Online SafetyOctober 6, 20263 min readHow Sureno writes this

The short version

AI may change how people do parts of their jobs, but the available research does not show that it will eliminate jobs on a large scale.
Among workers who had used AI at work, 63% said it helped them work faster ¹.
Reported benefits were not shared evenly: workers with more education and people in managerial roles used AI more than others ¹.
A study in Germany found no widespread harm to workers’ mental health or job satisfaction so far, but its authors said it is too early to draw firm conclusions ³.

How might AI change the way people work?

AI can help with some work tasks. It may change how workers spend their time without replacing an entire job. The sources available here do not show which specific jobs will disappear or how quickly that might happen.

A CNN report says research suggests millions of Americans may need new careers by 2035 ². That is a forecast, not a count of people who have already lost their jobs. The information supplied does not explain the study’s assumptions, so the estimate should be treated with caution.

What benefits do workers report from using AI?

In a US survey, 63% of workers who had used AI at work said it helped them work faster. More than half said it helped them find creative solutions ¹. Some also said it gave them more time for interesting tasks or helped them produce better work ¹.

These figures reflect what workers reported. They do not prove that AI improves everyone’s work. The study also found that people with more education and those in managerial roles used AI more than other workers ¹.

Will AI take jobs or reduce pay?

The sources do not provide a clear answer. CNN reported a forecast of major career changes by 2035 ². Business Insider reported that a white paper from Apollo found recent declines in inflation-adjusted wages in jobs with high AI exposure ⁴. The details provided do not establish that AI caused those wage changes.

A job that uses or is affected by AI will not necessarily disappear. Nor does exposure alone show what will happen to pay. The outcome may depend on how employers use the tools and change the work, but the research summarized here cannot predict those decisions.

What does research say about AI and worker well-being?

A study based on two decades of German survey data found no widespread harm to workers’ mental health or job satisfaction linked to AI exposure so far. It also found a possible modest improvement in physical health, particularly among workers without a college degree ³.

The researchers cautioned that it is too soon to draw firm conclusions ³. Their results describe patterns in one dataset; they cannot tell us how every worker or workplace will be affected.

How can workers prepare for AI at work?

The research summarized here does not test a particular preparation plan. A sensible first step is to find out which AI tools your workplace allows and whether your employer offers training. Ask how new tools might change your duties and what support will be available.

Workers can also practice checking AI-generated work instead of accepting it without review. That may be useful when a tool produces mistakes or misses important context. These steps cannot guarantee job security, but they can help workers understand how AI is being used in their own workplace.

What we don't know yet

How many jobs AI will eliminate, create or substantially change in different occupations.
What assumptions underlie the career-change forecast reported by CNN ².
Whether AI caused the wage declines reported in jobs with high AI exposure ⁴.
Whether workers with less access to AI tools or training will share in reported benefits.

A browser that helps you stay safe

Sureno is a Chromium browser with plain-language privacy settings and an assistant that only reads a page when you ask.

Get Sureno for Mac

Questions people ask

Will AI replace my job?

The sources do not show whether AI will replace any particular person’s job. CNN reported a forecast that millions of Americans may need new careers by 2035, but the information provided does not explain how that estimate was reached ².

Does AI help people work faster?

In one US survey, 63% of workers who had used AI at work said it helped them work faster ¹. That is a report from survey participants, not a guarantee that AI will speed up work in every job.

Could AI lower workers’ pay?

Business Insider reported that an Apollo white paper found recent declines in inflation-adjusted wages in jobs with high AI exposure ⁴. The information provided does not show whether AI caused those declines.

Is AI harming workers’ mental health?

One study using German survey data found no widespread harm to mental health or job satisfaction so far ³. Its authors said it is too early to draw firm conclusions, and the results may not apply to every workplace.

What can I do to prepare for AI at work?

The sources do not identify a specific skill or plan that guarantees job security. You can ask which tools your workplace allows, find out whether training is available, and check AI-generated work rather than relying on it without review.

Sources

Workers using AI are seeing major benefits – but a gap is emerging — Fox Business
AI could force 11 million US workers into new careers by 2035 | CNN Business — CNN, 2026-09-29
AI shows little impact on worker well-being despite self-reported job satisfaction concerns — Phys.org, 2025-06-23
AI's real threat to the job market: lower paychecks, new research says — Business Insider, 2026-07-30

Free tools for this

They run in your browser. Nothing is uploaded and there is nothing to sign up for.

Reorder PDF pagesPut the pages of a PDF into a new order.Salary calculatorTurn an hourly wage into a yearly salary, or the other way around.Overtime calculatorPay for regular hours plus time-and-a-half.