Finishing What AI Starts: The New Jobs That Will Define the Next Decade

There's an "AI Paradox" in play: AI’s shortcomings are fueling the next wave of high-value careers, but few of us see it now. This post is about what it takes to thrive in these new roles.

This is one of those in-depth posts, and I’m not going to apologize about that. Our jobs and future deserve nothing less. Bottom line: as AI scales I’m observing more and more obvious cracks in AI systems that not getting better, and there are entirely new job families that are incubating inside those spaces. This post exists because we need to name them, start talking about them, and start considering how current roles could transition into these proto-opportunities that are starting to exist.

Artificial intelligence today dazzles us with feats that, only a decade ago, seemed unfathomable. Models like GPT‑4 spin out coherent paragraphs or code snippets at a moment’s notice, and image-generation engines produce jaw-dropping prototypes with minimal human input. In purely linear or tightly constrained contexts, these systems approach a sort of mechanical brilliance.

Yet the same technology that stuns us with such speed and facility also exposes startling limitations as soon as it confronts fuzzy logic, ambiguous decision-making, or the labyrinthine realities of human-driven organizations. This tension—between AI’s linear excellence and its unraveling in unstructured domains—embodies what I call the “AI Paradox.”

It’s a phenomenon in which AI propels us forward, automating predictable tasks at scale, yet invites new forms of human intervention precisely because it struggles with the nuances of ambiguity and tacit knowledge. This is not a “until the next model” jobs post. Far from being a mere technological quirk to “fix,” these gaps hint at an emerging generation of roles that build upon, refine, and ultimately complete what AI begins.

Below, I lay out eight new job families I see emerging and stable in an AI world, and I talk a bit about what it takes to thrive in them and what kind of current roles might transition into those job families. I also have tips for organizational leaders grappling with the implications of AI disruption for their businesses.