August 29, 2025 • 7 mins
AI is advancing rapidly, and Kevin and Larry explore areas where it's having a significant impact right now. Many employees and students are more competent, rather than faster, when using Artificial Intelligence. What will the future of the workforce look like due to AI and work ethic changes in society?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now let's get to Kevin's really futurist reporter and founder
of Meet the Future website. Kevin, I appreciate you being
here today. You are sort of a man on the
hour because we've had so many stories that have to
do with a I, and I don't think a whole
lot of people understand exactly what is going on and
(00:22):
how pervasive AI is already in our lives. Let's start
with this. How much is it going to threaten the workforce?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
You know, I think there's I'm an optimist, as you know,
especially when it comes to embracing technology, and I think
there's a lot of upside if you play your cards right.
You know, there's this coin term that's been making its
way this year through the zeitgeist of the technology world,
and that's these super workers. The new star employees aren't
necessarily faster, but they're smarter with AI. So a big
(00:56):
conversation in the education front is, oh, are students cheating
with AI? I don't like that word, I mean even
in the workplace. So did you use AI to write
that report? Well? I hope you did, but the question
is can you still make it sound human? And these
super workers have cracked that code. These are early adopters,
people who have figured out ways to be able to
(01:16):
be more streamlined in the workplace, scheduling meetings, replying to emails.
They're called super workers. Think about it from the sense
of AI, A lot of these growth revenues, they're seeing
three x revenue growth, and top talent is getting ahead
with their salaries as a result of embracing it. But
I also think that it's leading us to another conversation
(01:37):
about entry level jobs. We've heard, you know, I've talked
to you, Larry about the whole notion of you know,
white collar jobs and mid level jobs and whatnot. But
the AI kids who are cashing in are the ones
who doubled down on artificial intelligence and learning it. These
AI startups. The starting salaries for these kids out of
college two hundred thousand dollars not bad.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
How proficient do you have to be at AI to
get that salary right out of college.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, it's not just being proficient in it. It's also
learning how to design the llms, how to be able
to teach others the lms, and being able to recognize
sort of what businesses are going to be needing in
the next three to five years. You know, we've all
heard of SEO, for example, but you know, artificial intelligence models,
especially if you're a business. You're gonna want your news
(02:29):
if you're in the media industry, or you're gonna want
your data if you're in the data industry, picked up
by the artificial intelligence bots because that's the new Google.
And so thinking like that, that's why these college kids
are making so much money.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Yeah, So you're saying the people that just like major
in AI, they know AI, know how to develop AI is,
are going to get these big jobs. But what about
the people that are proficient at it. I would imagine
they have a step up over somebody else no matter
what they do, if they know AI correct.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
And you know, and I said this to a business community,
meaning that I that I presented at a couple of
weeks ago, which is people should be thinking of AI
as like a senior vice president in their ORG chart.
And that can be kind of controversial but of a statement,
but it's true in the sense that the entry level
jobs are going to have to learn the AI system.
(03:27):
The c suite is going to have to understand how
AI is going to be integrated into their organization chart
and the deliverables that they want their AI to perform
and automate, and the employees are going to have to
work seamlessly with it. But it all comes back to
security and trust. If this information isn't something that your
organization or your colleagues are able to interact with, then
(03:49):
it's useless and it's just cumbersome. But if it is
able to enhance the ability for your company to meet
their KPIs and whatnot, then it's better for them. But
I would also argue that in the culture because of
the rise of AI, and then this come back to work,
back to the office. You and I have talked about
this when I was you know, I'm actually in New
(04:10):
York today for other meetings, but when I was when
I saw you in the studio, I'm a big fan
of going into the office. But the four day work week,
I think is going to pick up steam in the
sense that because of AI making things faster and more efficient.
A lot of global trials have showed that not only
are workers eighteen percent happy or cutting stressed by twenty
(04:30):
six percent, but company profits are boosted. So you know,
we could talk about a four day work week as
we head into a three day weekend. But then that
is implications for the political world, which I'll let you
cover because you know, certain industries maybe you know one
a four day work week, but one at a five
day salary, blah blah blah blah blah. So it is
(04:51):
really fascinating how the culture around work is evolving.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Well, here's the amazing thing about a four day work week.
Not only are workers happy with that because they get
an extra day off, but apparently profits are up right.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Profits are up and so from a four day work
week perspective, you know, if it lets you be more
efficient and it gets people back into the office, and
it gets people back, you know, I would argue downtown
into the business districts, and that has a I would argue,
a positive effects on the economy and people can be
more efficient. You know, it might be time. You know,
Americans are notoriously bad at taking vacations, so you know,
(05:28):
maybe maybe maybe we've all been working up to this moment.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Larry, Yeah, well I hope, so that would be really nice.
What about robots? How big are they going to be
in our future when we go to work or in
some of the workplaces.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Well especially in manufacturing and advanced manufacturing. A couple of
years ago, I did a tour of a plant in
Arizona where they were making semiconductor trips, and I felt
like I was in honey. I shrunk the kids because
I saw all of these I mean, I saw these
humans manning the robots. It was wild. It was a
secure facilit the deep underground and the Arizona desert, and
I had to put on the bunny suit, the whites,
(06:04):
you know, the white suit and all of that, and
I watched these engineers control robots and it was really
like a scene out of the future. Flash forwards to today.
The Wall Street Journal has the story out this week
about a Hyundai plant where there's seven hundred and fifty robots.
But the point of the story isn't that the robots
are here. It's that the humans didn't lose their jobs.
The humans are manning the robots, and that I think
(06:25):
is also going to be incredibly important, because you do
need the humans there to make sure that the robots don't,
you know, start making put the left eire on the
right side of the right eye on the left side.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Right right, and you don't want them taking over the
world either. So you want a human they're absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Thanks to the last point, the robots don't have purchasing power,
so the human maintains the power because they have the money,
so they're making the cars for humans to buy. Never
forget that, because that's the leverage that humanity has for now.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Kevin's really futurist reporter and founder of Meet the Future website.
Thanks so much, Talk to you again, Kevin
Now let's get to Kevin's really futurist reporter and founder
of Meet the Future website. Kevin, I appreciate you being
here today. You are sort of a man on the
hour because we've had so many stories that have to
do with a I, and I don't think a whole
lot of people understand exactly what is going on and
(00:22):
how pervasive AI is already in our lives. Let's start
with this. How much is it going to threaten the workforce?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
You know, I think there's I'm an optimist, as you know,
especially when it comes to embracing technology, and I think
there's a lot of upside if you play your cards right.
You know, there's this coin term that's been making its
way this year through the zeitgeist of the technology world,
and that's these super workers. The new star employees aren't
necessarily faster, but they're smarter with AI. So a big
(00:56):
conversation in the education front is, oh, are students cheating
with AI? I don't like that word, I mean even
in the workplace. So did you use AI to write
that report? Well? I hope you did, but the question
is can you still make it sound human? And these
super workers have cracked that code. These are early adopters,
people who have figured out ways to be able to
(01:16):
be more streamlined in the workplace, scheduling meetings, replying to emails.
They're called super workers. Think about it from the sense
of AI, A lot of these growth revenues, they're seeing
three x revenue growth, and top talent is getting ahead
with their salaries as a result of embracing it. But
I also think that it's leading us to another conversation
(01:37):
about entry level jobs. We've heard, you know, I've talked
to you, Larry about the whole notion of you know,
white collar jobs and mid level jobs and whatnot. But
the AI kids who are cashing in are the ones
who doubled down on artificial intelligence and learning it. These
AI startups. The starting salaries for these kids out of
college two hundred thousand dollars not bad.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
How proficient do you have to be at AI to
get that salary right out of college.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, it's not just being proficient in it. It's also
learning how to design the llms, how to be able
to teach others the lms, and being able to recognize
sort of what businesses are going to be needing in
the next three to five years. You know, we've all
heard of SEO, for example, but you know, artificial intelligence models,
especially if you're a business. You're gonna want your news
(02:29):
if you're in the media industry, or you're gonna want
your data if you're in the data industry, picked up
by the artificial intelligence bots because that's the new Google.
And so thinking like that, that's why these college kids
are making so much money.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Yeah, So you're saying the people that just like major
in AI, they know AI, know how to develop AI is,
are going to get these big jobs. But what about
the people that are proficient at it. I would imagine
they have a step up over somebody else no matter
what they do, if they know AI correct.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
And you know, and I said this to a business community,
meaning that I that I presented at a couple of
weeks ago, which is people should be thinking of AI
as like a senior vice president in their ORG chart.
And that can be kind of controversial but of a statement,
but it's true in the sense that the entry level
jobs are going to have to learn the AI system.
(03:27):
The c suite is going to have to understand how
AI is going to be integrated into their organization chart
and the deliverables that they want their AI to perform
and automate, and the employees are going to have to
work seamlessly with it. But it all comes back to
security and trust. If this information isn't something that your
organization or your colleagues are able to interact with, then
(03:49):
it's useless and it's just cumbersome. But if it is
able to enhance the ability for your company to meet
their KPIs and whatnot, then it's better for them. But
I would also argue that in the culture because of
the rise of AI, and then this come back to work,
back to the office. You and I have talked about
this when I was you know, I'm actually in New
(04:10):
York today for other meetings, but when I was when
I saw you in the studio, I'm a big fan
of going into the office. But the four day work week,
I think is going to pick up steam in the
sense that because of AI making things faster and more efficient.
A lot of global trials have showed that not only
are workers eighteen percent happy or cutting stressed by twenty
(04:30):
six percent, but company profits are boosted. So you know,
we could talk about a four day work week as
we head into a three day weekend. But then that
is implications for the political world, which I'll let you
cover because you know, certain industries maybe you know one
a four day work week, but one at a five
day salary, blah blah blah blah blah. So it is
(04:51):
really fascinating how the culture around work is evolving.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Well, here's the amazing thing about a four day work week.
Not only are workers happy with that because they get
an extra day off, but apparently profits are up right.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Profits are up and so from a four day work
week perspective, you know, if it lets you be more
efficient and it gets people back into the office, and
it gets people back, you know, I would argue downtown
into the business districts, and that has a I would argue,
a positive effects on the economy and people can be
more efficient. You know, it might be time. You know,
Americans are notoriously bad at taking vacations, so you know,
(05:28):
maybe maybe maybe we've all been working up to this moment.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Larry, Yeah, well I hope, so that would be really nice.
What about robots? How big are they going to be
in our future when we go to work or in
some of the workplaces.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Well especially in manufacturing and advanced manufacturing. A couple of
years ago, I did a tour of a plant in
Arizona where they were making semiconductor trips, and I felt
like I was in honey. I shrunk the kids because
I saw all of these I mean, I saw these
humans manning the robots. It was wild. It was a
secure facilit the deep underground and the Arizona desert, and
I had to put on the bunny suit, the whites,
(06:04):
you know, the white suit and all of that, and
I watched these engineers control robots and it was really
like a scene out of the future. Flash forwards to today.
The Wall Street Journal has the story out this week
about a Hyundai plant where there's seven hundred and fifty robots.
But the point of the story isn't that the robots
are here. It's that the humans didn't lose their jobs.
The humans are manning the robots, and that I think
(06:25):
is also going to be incredibly important, because you do
need the humans there to make sure that the robots don't,
you know, start making put the left eire on the
right side of the right eye on the left side.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Right right, and you don't want them taking over the
world either. So you want a human they're absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Thanks to the last point, the robots don't have purchasing power,
so the human maintains the power because they have the money,
so they're making the cars for humans to buy. Never
forget that, because that's the leverage that humanity has for now.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Kevin's really futurist reporter and founder of Meet the Future website.
Thanks so much, Talk to you again, Kevin
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