FEAR has a way of narrowing down our vision, and much of the conversation around artificial intelligence (AI) today stems from one dreaded reality: that AI is coming for our jobs.
It is not a baseless concern. Across industries, AI is automating tasks, reshaping workflows, and changing what gets done by whom. For many workers, especially those in roles built around routine and repetition, the pressure is real and immediate.
However, Prof. Jose Gerardo Santamaria, head of the Washington SyCip Graduate School of Business at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), says leaders may be focusing on the wrong question. “AI is not simply eliminating jobs,” he says. “It is redesigning work in ways that create value, expand roles, and help people grow.”
The real threat is not AI; it is thinking too small about it. Repetitive, structured tasks have always been targets for automation, long before AI existed. What AI has done is dramatically expand the scope of what falls into that category.
Handling inquiries, evaluating data, generating content — these are within AI’s reach. Entry-level roles in knowledge work and creative industries are feeling the pressure. The concern is valid.
But the reality is that most jobs are not defined by a single task. There are dozens of tasks bundled together, and AI can only reach so far into that bundle. The rest — judgment calls, relationship management, creative leaps, and ethical weighing — still belongs to people.
“These jobs will be reshaped, rather than replaced by AI,” Santamaria explains. “Incumbents will end up performing new tasks and developing new skills as they collaborate with AI to perform their roles.”
The challenge for leaders is not only deciding what tasks AI can replace, but also imagining what new work it can create for their people.
The numbers reinforce the urgency. According to the Hays 2026 Salary & Recruitment Trends Guide, 47 percent of employers say their organization has already adopted AI, and 34 percent of employees are actively using it at work.
Productivity, creativity and decision-making are cited as the top benefits.
However, it is worth noting that 26 percent of employees receive no AI training at all, while 65 percent say they want more development opportunities.
Gap
The gap exists in readiness, confidence and skill that only the right kind of leadership can close.
Walk into most boardrooms today, and you will find the same conversation. How do we use AI to cut costs? How do we automate this function? How do we do more with less?
Santamaria says he understands the pressure behind those questions. But he is also direct about what they are missing. “Leaders who see AI mainly as a cost-cutting tool may be missing a larger opportunity: to redesign work in ways that create value, expand roles, and help people grow.”
When AI handles the groundwork, people are freed to take on work they never had access to before. The work becomes, Santamaria says, “more meaningful and developmental.”
While AI will automate some tasks, it can also open opportunities for employees to learn new skills, take on more complex work, and contribute in ways that were not previously possible, Santamaria says. “AI does not simply reduce work — it changes it.”
It is important, however, to be cognizant of a possible unintended consequence as work changes, so is the potential for burnout.
As AI reshapes industries, education must keep pace. Santamaria says the shift is clear: future business education must go beyond technical know-how and focus on developing the human qualities AI cannot replace. MBA programs, for example, will put more emphasis on developing judgment, adaptability and people skills. Santamaria says, “Future MBA programs will need to help students learn how to work with AI, redesign work processes, and lead teams whose roles are changing because of technology.”
Equally important, he notes, are the foundational human skills — critical thinking, communication, empathy and ethical judgment. These skills are more essential than ever, especially in an AI-driven world.
The shift Santamaria describes is also reflected in how business education is evolving. At the AIM Washington SyCip Graduate School of Business, MBA students engage in case discussions, simulations and reflective exercises that draw heavily on their own professional experience.
The goal is to strengthen the judgment and adaptability leaders need to make sound decisions amid competing priorities, uncertainty, and change.