How AI is Reshaping the Future of Work

by sailforchange | July 8, 2025 | UA at SAIL Blogs

Hashem Awad

Introduction:

We’ve all heard AI is “taking over jobs”, and while that once felt distant the truth is that the future is here. Across all industries, AI is transforming the job market faster than we realize, yet schools, companies, and governments are still unprepared. Most students aren’t being taught how to work with AI, and many current workers don’t know what skills are needed to stay relevant.

So, which jobs are disappearing? What skills matter now? And how do we adapt?

Will Entry Level Jobs Still Exist?

Entry level tasks like data entry, scheduling, basic research are among the first to be automated since these are exactly the kinds of tasks AI is efficient at. These roles help people build experience, but if they disappear, we risk creating a skills vacuum.

Employers are expecting people with technological fluency in AI tools, and of course, the soft skills that remain human like collaboration and critical thinking. Yet educational institutions should align themselves more with these expectations and are outdated.

 The Next 5 Years for AI and the Job Market

The Future of Jobs Report 2025 by the World Economic Forum provides one of the most comprehensive views of the transformations occurring between 2025 and 2030. This report offers a quantitative look at what lies ahead (World Economic Forum, 2025).

According to the Future of Jobs Report 2025, 50% of companies plan to reorient around AI and 66% aim to hire AI skilled workers.

AI and Information processing are seen as the most transformative trend (86% of employers), expected to create 170 million new jobs and displace 92 million which is a net gain of 78 million, but not without disruption.

Fastest Growing roles:

  • AI and Machine Learning Specialists
  • Big Data Analysts
  • Fintech Engineers
  • Software Developers

Fastest Declining roles:

  • Cashiers
  • Data Entry Clerks
  • Bank Tellers
  • Secretaries

AI is set to influence all industries across all sectors. Attuning your skill set to better fit this new era will definitely make you stand out.

Declining and Rising Skills

By 2030, 39% of today’s skills will be transformed or obsolete. What are the skills that we need to focus on? Here is what employers are looking for now:

  • Analytical Thinking
  • AI and Big Data Literacy
  • Technological Literacy
  • Networks and Cybersecurity
  • Resilience, Flexibility, and Agility
  • Leadership and Social Influence

And, as importantly, these skills are reported to lose the most value:

  • Manual Dexterity, Endurance, and Precision
  • Attention to detail
  • Quality Control
  • Reading, Writing, and Mathematics

These findings illustrate two core changes: 1) a growing need for technological and AI literacy across all fields, and 2) an emphasis on soft skills that AI will never be able to replicate. We must align ourselves with these skills.

Call to Action

The numbers are clear. AI is reshaping the job market, and above all these skills, one thing is demanded most: preparedness.

To Students

Ask: Can AI do what I do? Am I adept enough in AI and technology to use it to stand out?

Learn to develop AI fluency and find ways to creatively integrate AI tools within your workflow. Focus on your soft skills: communication, leadership, collaboration, and adaptability, as these are skills that AI cannot replicate.

To Educators and Universities

Ask: Are we preparing students to work with AI, or pushing them away from it?

AI fluency must become a core component across all faculty curricula. A required AI literacy course across all majors, not just STEM majors, is suggested as a powerful starting point for this.

To Employers

Invest deeply in upskilling and reskilling your workforce to account for the changes and to ensure a smoother transition. Find creative ways for AI to be used as a tool, not as a holistic replacement.

To Governments

 Lebanon suffers from youth unemployment and brain drain and ignoring AI means widening the gap. We need national strategies that fund digital upskilling in the workforce, and modern curricula in education and higher education.

Conclusion

The numbers are unambiguous: AI is changing the job market. Roles are shifting, skills are evolving, and organizations are completely restructuring. Change is happening whether we are ready or not, but readiness is still a choice.

The time to start is now.

References:

Allen, M., & VandeHei, J. (2025, May 28). Behind the curtain: A white-collar bloodbath. Axios. https://www.axios.com/2025/05/28/ai-jobs-white-collar-unemployment-anthropic 

Boston Consulting Group. (2024, May). How governments can improve the global skills market. BCG. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/how-governments-can-improve-global-skills-market

IBM. (2025). AI and the future of work. IBM Insights. https://www.ibm.com/think/insights/ai-and-the-future-of-work 

Peck, E. (2025, May 29). AI is keeping recent college grads out of work. Axios. https://www.axios.com/2025/05/29/ai-college-grads-work-jobs 

World Economic Forum. (2024). The Future of Jobs Report 2025. https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025

Zhang, L., & team. (2025). Soft skills and long-term success in the age of AI. Nature Human Behaviour. (Summary via HBS Working Knowledge). https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/why-soft-skills-still-matter-in-the-age-of-ai

ِAbout the Author: 

 Hisham Awad is a Student of Computer Science at the American University of Beirut