[LexSoy opinion] AI Displacing vs. Creating Jobs – A Practical Perspective from a U.S. Attorney
There’s a recent New York Times column that deeply resonated with me, titled “A.I. Might Take Your Job. Here Are 22 New Ones It Could Give You” by Robert Capps. Before diving into that piece, I want to briefly recommend that anyone interested in global trends or improving their English consider subscribing to U.S. newspapers like the New York Times or Washington Post. Personally, I find immense value in reading at least one article each day and often use what I read as a basis for deeper reflection or writing.
Now to the article.
Capps shares his experience attempting to use AI to write the piece itself, only to abandon the AI-generated version and submit his own. Why? Because while AI could produce readable content, it lacked accountability. Many of the quotes were fabricated, and even if every fact were technically correct, there was no author to bear responsibility. That stuck with me.
In my work as an attorney, I regularly use AI tools for first-pass contract reviews, issue spotting, and basic legal research. They’re helpful and save time. But I always revise, verify, and add my own legal reasoning. Why? Because I'm the one responsible for the final work. And often, the AI's draft lacks the insight and nuance I would expect from something that represents me.
This points to a larger truth: AI may displace certain tasks, but it doesn’t remove the need for human judgment, accountability, or creativity.
Take a few examples:
Customer service. Many businesses now use AI agents or chatbots to answer phones or respond online. And yet, when I encounter these bots, I instinctively search for the “talk to a human” option. Emotional connection and genuine understanding still matter.
Recruiting. AI tools now filter resumes based on job descriptions. It’s become common for job seekers to tailor resumes using AI just to pass that first filter. But this automated screening introduces new risks—like bias. In the U.S., employers are increasingly required to monitor these tools to ensure fairness, and that requires human oversight.
Content creation. Many people use AI to generate blogs or social media posts in seconds. But you can often tell when a piece lacks any human insight. Personally, I tend to skip over AI-written posts that feel impersonal or thoughtless. Quality still depends on someone caring enough to add value.
The pace of change is accelerating. AI is already deeply integrated into daily life and corporate operations, and the speed of future transformations may surpass that of the last hundred years. In fact, we may see more dramatic shifts in the next 5 to 10 years than in the previous century.
In the article, Capps identifies three human domains that AI cannot replace:
1. Trust and Accountability.
AI can produce outputs, but humans are the ones held responsible for their accuracy and fairness. This opens the door to new roles like AI auditors, ethics officers, and legal stewards.
2. Integration.
Technology must still be implemented, supervised, and corrected by people who understand how organizations function. Jobs like AI integrators, system evaluators, and technical troubleshooters will grow in importance.
3. Taste and Judgment.
When everyone uses the same tools, what sets individuals apart is their ability to ask better questions, select better outputs, and express unique perspectives. Taste, as in the case of a music producer like Rick Rubin, becomes a core skill.
The takeaway is this: our value isn’t in out-competing machines, but in directing, contextualizing, and taking ownership of what those machines produce. We are still the ones who decide what matters.
According to the World Economic Forum, about 9 million jobs may disappear by 2030—but 11 million new ones may emerge. The real question is how we prepare ourselves.
AI is not just taking jobs; it’s reshaping them. And that makes us, in a way, designers of the future. Let’s hope we bring good taste with us.
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