Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky warns two types of people won’t survive the AI era: ‘pure people managers’ and workers who resist change
Tech leaders have spent the past few years warning workers that AI will threaten every single job, from computer programming and customer service to law and finance. But according to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, the biggest risk to professionals isn’t the technology itself—it’s refusing to evolve alongside it. And in his view, there are two kinds of employees who “will not survive the age of AI.”
TL;DR
- Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky states the biggest professional risk in the AI era is refusing to evolve with the technology.
- Two types of employees unlikely to survive the AI age are "pure people managers" and those resistant to change.
- People managers must adapt to become "hybrid people managers" or "manager ICs," balancing team leadership with technical involvement.
- Employees unwilling to learn and adapt to AI tools will also struggle, even if they are not in management roles.
- Tech leaders like Dario Amodei, Mustafa Suleyman, Jensen Huang, and Ted Sarandos also foresee significant impacts of AI on professional work, stressing the importance of leveraging the technology rather than being replaced by it.