Will AI take your job? It’s one of the most urgent questions of our time — and it touches all of us, no matter our industry, age, or experience. In this special three-part series of Decoded by Mo, I bring the opinions of some of the most influential voices in AI to an imaginery dinner table to debate what happens to work, identity, and humanity in the age of machines.
In Part 1 — Minds vs. Muscle, we explore why this moment feels different from past technological revolutions. From the wheel and the printing press, to the Luddites and the internet, every wave of innovation has disrupted jobs — but it always replaced muscle. AI, for the first time, replaces mind. That changes everything.
I reflect on how our bodies and brains are designed to survive — pruning away what we don’t use. Just like muscles weaken and languages fade when left idle, we risk losing the very muscles of our minds if we outsource too much to AI.
At the dinner table sits Mo Gawdat, the former Chief Business Officer of Google X, who doesn’t hedge his words: AI will take all jobs. Not some, not most — all. He describes AI as a child raised by the internet, learning at hyperspeed from both the best and worst of humanity. He calls the belief in “new jobs” a comforting myth — “100% crap,” in his words. Even CEOs, he argues, may not be safe.
And yet, Mo also points to what will remain: the deeply human. Care, empathy, love, presence. He ties the future of jobs to a deeper question of meaning, consumption, and spirituality: if machines do all the work, what will define us then?
I also bring in a fresh perspective from Gen Z — my niece — who believes AI should be banned in schools because it’s making students lazy. Her refusal to use AI for assignments contrasts with classmates who embrace it to free time for sports, friends, and hobbies. Both views raise the same concern: if we stop using our minds, we risk losing them.
This episode is about fear, warnings, and the possibility that jobs as we know them may end. In the next part, we’ll hear the opposite view — Peter Diamandis’ optimism that AI will create abundance, not collapse — alongside the cautious skepticism of Geoffrey Hinton, the godfather of AI.
So join me at the dinner table. The bread is broken, the music is playing, and the debate begins.