Business Strategy Class: Generative AI and the Workforce of Tomorrow 

The Trained A-Eye

Welcome back to class, classmates! We explored how AI supports individuals, strengthens organizations, and shapes culture. Now, time to talk about its most powerful influence yet: the workforce itself. In this week’s Business Strategy Class, we are stepping into the boardroom to examine how generative AI is reshaping careers, skill sets, and the future of work. Change is here, and while that can feel uncertain, it is also deeply exciting! The question now is how will transform ourselves alongside AI? 

This week’s lesson is once again inspired by my brilliant professor friends, Chris Snider and Christopher Porter, the Innovation Profs, who created the AI Summer School series, highlighting how AI adoption impacts both individuals and systems. The Innovation Profs brought my attention to a recent Stanford University study on AI’s workforce. The research, titled Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of Artificial Intelligence, examines how AI adoption is affecting entry-level workers, particularly those aged 22 to 25. The results? A 13% decline in employment for early-career professionals in roles most exposed to automation. Sobering, yes, but not hopeless. For leaders, educators, and employers, we are building a strategic roadmap for how to respond. 

Automation vs. Augmentation: Two Paths, Two Outcomes 

The Stanford study highlights an essential distinction between automation and augmentation. In simple terms, automation replaces; augmentation enhances. Jobs that rely on process repetition or predictable workflows we see in the workers’ compensation industry, like data entry, transcription, or entry-level coding, are most vulnerable to automation. Roles that depend on communication, creativity, or critical thinking remain steady. YAY workers’ compensation! In fact, in environments where AI is used to augment human work rather than replace it, employment growth has remained strong.  

Hello? Are you with me? This is how we enhance the workers’ compensation experience including adjusters, human resources, and risk management! AI tools can automate claims summaries, generate initial reports, or analyze data trends. What they can’t do? Replicate empathy, advocacy, or relationship-building with social astuteness or apparent sincerity – think AUTHENTICITY. That is why the future of our field lies not in replacing people, but in elevating them. The smartest organizations will deploy AI to remove administrative friction so professionals can focus on the human heart of the claim enhancing listening, guiding, and connecting. Automation handles process; augmentation powers purpose. 

Codified Knowledge vs. Tacit Knowledge 

Another powerful insight from the Stanford study lies in the difference between codified knowledge and tacit knowledge. Codified knowledge is what you can learn from a textbook, manual, or course such as the “what” and “how.” Tacit knowledge is what you learn by doing, the unspoken intuition built through experience, relationships, and repetition. AI is excellent at absorbing codified knowledge. It can summarize laws, interpret trends, or produce technical explanations instantly. But tacit knowledge, the “feel” for a conversation, the instinct for timing, the judgment in a complex case, this remains uniquely human. This explains why entry-level workers (who primarily possess codified knowledge) are more affected by automation than experienced professionals. Over time, as people develop tacit understanding, their work becomes harder to replace. 

This insight is gold for workers’ compensation. We must build programs that help employees move from knowledge-based work to wisdom-based work faster. This is where the human element and emotional intelligence gain significant importance. How? By creating mentorship pipelines, experiential learning opportunities, and reflection practices that develop judgment. We need to focus on training these skills plus empathy, and adaptability, skills AI cannot currently replicate. We have been needing to be more human for a long time, now it is become this or just let AI do it. And frankly, maybe this is the shakeup we have needed for reality to set in on what it truly means to be human and care about people.  

The Human Advantage: Experience, Empathy, and Adaptability 

While AI may disrupt entry-level roles, it simultaneously increases the value of higher-level human capabilities. The most sought-after professionals will be those who can think critically, communicate clearly, and adapt quickly. In other words, soft skills have become strategic skills. For the workers’ compensation ecosystem, this means adjusters who can interpret both data and emotion, HR professionals who can balance compliance with compassion, and safety leaders who can translate analytics into cultural action. These are the skills we have been talking about for decades! As AI handles technical work, people must handle relational work. The claim process of the future will be more personal, guided by professionals who understand how to use technology and how to talk to humans. The ultimate human advantage lies in reimagining how we lead through it. 

How Leaders Can Respond Strategically 

The Stanford study highlights workforce disruption, and it also offers a blueprint for leaders who want to build resilience into their organizations. Here are a few strategic moves to consider: 

1. Redesign entry-level roles as learning labs. 
Make early-career positions less about rote execution and more about guided learning. Pair employees with mentors, assign them to AI-assisted projects, and rotate them across departments to build well-rounded, cross-functional experience. 

2. Invest in experiential learning. 
Encourage internships, simulation-based training, and shadowing programs that expose employees to real-world decision-making. The more experience they gain early, the faster they move from codified to tacit knowledge. 

3. Reframe AI as a collaborator, not a competitor. 
Train teams to use AI tools as co-pilots to brainstorm, organize, and validate ideas versus silent judges. This mindset shift transforms anxiety into agency. 

4. Audit your job ladders. 
Review career progression paths to ensure employees have opportunities to grow into roles that rely on strategic, human-centered skills. Build bridges upward, not barriers. 

Implications for Workers’ Compensation 

In our industry, the future of AI-driven transformation is less about job loss and more about job evolution. Yes, repetitive administrative roles may shrink, but new ones will emerge such as data translators, compliance technologists, and empathy-driven communicators who bridge the gap between system and soul. We need professionals who can both interpret AI output and contextualize it through the lens of humanity. 

Employers and carriers can start by reframing their workforce development strategy around three principles: reskilling, reimagining, and retaining. Reskill employees to use AI responsibly and creatively. Reimagine how roles evolve as automation increases. Retain great talent by offering purpose-driven work that leverages both heart and intellect. View AI as an ally in workforce renewal rather than reduction so we can open the door to a more balanced, innovative, and fulfilling future. 

The Bigger Picture: From Disruption to Design 

Every technological leap in history has reshaped the labor landscape. This one is unique because it is cognitive. It challenges how we think, learn, and work. The Stanford researchers call young workers “canaries in the coal mine,” but I see them as pioneers at the frontier. Their experiences reveal what all of us must prepare for: a future where value is how we can interpret, connect, and create. AI will continue to change the nature of entry-level work, and it will challenge leaders to design better systems for learning and growth. The future workforce will thrive because we built organizations where people feel equipped to evolve with it. 

Class Takeaway 

AI is the evolution of work. The Stanford study reminds us that the key to resilience is leaning into augmentation by helping people grow in ways machines cannot. In workers’ compensation, that means nurturing communication, empathy, and critical thinking alongside technology. The organizations that thrive will be those that treat AI a capacity-creating tool to help their employees shine. It is far beyond time to remove the automative, redundant process so we can be more people-centric first.  

Your homework: look at your organization’s entry-level roles. Ask how each could become a launchpad for learning instead of a checklist for tasks. Identify where mentorship, reflection, and human development could turn exposure to AI into empowerment. The future is here and it’s hiring! 

Class dismissed.  

Next week: Philosophy Class – The Road to AGI 

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