Interviewer: Thank you for sitting down with us. Let’s start simple. When people ask you about AI and jobs, what do you see happening right now, in the next six months?
Gerry: Right now, the shift isn’t dramatic job losses; it’s discomfort. People are realizing AI can already do parts of their work faster, sometimes better, and it unsettles them. Think of tasks like scheduling, summarizing, some steps of writing, even basic coding. Even though we already some some pretty big shifts, in the next six months, the “job” being lost isn’t whole professions It’s more like the busywork. The long emails, the meeting notes, the rote research. AI eats that first.
Interviewer: What about the short term: two to three years from now?
Gerry: That’s when we may see some real structural change. In the next 2-3 years, I think we’ll see parts of customer service, especially the front-line chat and call center roles, start to be replaced outright. Simple support questions, order lookups, billing issues, troubleshooting scripts: AI can already handle those faster than most human reps. The people who stay in those jobs will be the ones handling escalations, the nuanced conversations, the moments where empathy matters. So, the job doesn’t disappear overnight, but the volume of human involvement shrinks fast .But at the same time, we’ll see the birth of new work: AI agent builders, just like web developers were in the late 90s and even some today. Everyone will want their own little AI helper, someone to run their small business logistics, or to manage their online store, or to tutor their kid. Most people won’t know how to build or train those. We’ll also see the rise of what we might call AI maintenance crews. These aren’t people building the systems from scratch, but the ones making sure they behave. Checking outputs, correcting errors, retraining when things drift off course. It’s less about invention and more about upkeep, like mechanics for fleets of digital engines. Not glamorous, but absolutely necessary.
Interviewer: And looking at the long term: four, five years and beyond, where do you see us?
Gerry: By then, the landscape probably looks much different. Entire categories of jobs may vanish: clerical processing, some customer service, low-level data analysis. But there will be whole industries we don’t have yet. Just like nobody predicted “social media manager” in 1995, we’ll see job titles like “AI Ecosystem Curator,” “Agent-to-Agent Negotiator,” and “Human Insight Specialist.” Ironically, the jobs that remain most secure are the ones that look like the oldest: human-to-human work. Nurses. Counselors. Teachers who guide students through meaning, not just information or memorization. Artists who make us feel. Priests, coaches, therapists, anywhere empathy and presence are the point. Machines won’t take those.
Interviewer: What about the jobs that don’t disappear, but change?
Gerry: Almost every profession learns an AI dialect. A lawyer will still argue in court, but they may know how to use an AI to map precedents. A marketer could still create campaigns, but they’ll use AI to test ten thousand versions before lunch. A teacher could still guide, but with AI sitting in the background as a tutor, checker, co-pilot. The core of the job stays, but the tools shift so dramatically that those who refuse to adapt will feel left behind.
Interviewer: And what jobs stay untouched?
Gerry: The ones where the essence is human exchange. Where trust, touch, empathy, and presence can’t be replicated. Doctors delivering hard news. A teacher sitting with a struggling student. A craftsman handing someone a piece of work made by hand. Those don’t vanish. They may get better tools, but the soul of the work remains human.
Interviewer: So, bottom line, are you optimistic or worried about the AI future of work?
Gerry: Both. I worry because people will always take the easy path even if it impacts them negatively, or if it costs them their edge. But I’m still optimistic because those who choose to grow with it, who learn how to use these tools without giving away their agency, they will thrive. This is less about jobs vanishing, and maybe more about us deciding what part of the work we still claim as our own.
About Gerry White
Gerry White is the Dean of Academic Technology at ECPI University, where he leads innovation at the intersection of education, AI, and the humanities. A teacher, technologist, and writer with over two decades of experience, Gerry has guided the integration of emerging technologies into higher education while keeping human creativity and critical thinking at the core.
As Dean, he oversees initiatives that empower students and faculty to engage responsibly with AI and digital tools, from classroom practice to enterprise-level strategy. He is also the founder of Life Preserve, an AI/AR company dedicated to preserving human stories and ideas, and is the creator of several apps, immersive technology projects and community-driven AI initiatives.
Through his books, articles, and public speaking, Gerry highlights how AI is reshaping not just education but culture and cognition. He challenges educators, parents, and professionals to consider not only what AI can do, but what it should do, and how we can preserve human voice, trust, and imagination in a rapidly changing world.