First Move · AI & Jobs ·
Riding the wave — Tuesday morning, 26 May
Workers Ride the AI Wave: Reskilling and Adaptation Lead to New Opportunities and Enhanced Roles
This week, the conversation around AI's impact on jobs shifted further towards augmentation and reskilling, as more workers leverage tools to boost their capabilities rather than face displacement.
The story
Michael, a former teacher from Texas, found a new stride in his career by embracing AI. After leaving his teaching role, he transitioned into freelance writing, a field where he initially had no prior experience. By strategically using ChatGPT, Michael now produces between 60 to 80 blog posts monthly. This prolific output, facilitated by AI for outlining and research summaries, allows him to charge $150 per post, translating to a monthly income of $9,000 to $12,000. Michael's story highlights how integrating AI can create significant new income streams, enabling individuals to pivot into entirely new professions with remarkable success.
Riders, not victims
| Name | Role | What They Did |
|---|---|---|
| Michael | Freelance Writer, Texas, USA | Used ChatGPT to generate outlines and research summaries for blog posts, producing 60-80 articles monthly and earning $9,000-$12,000. |
| Alex | Musician and Video Creator | Leveraged AI tools like AIVA and Amper Music to create music and videos, generating an income of $8,500 monthly by selling his AI-created content. |
| Sarah | E-commerce Professional | Developed an AI-powered product suggestion website using NLP and machine learning, which she later sold for $1.5 million due to its success in understanding customer preferences. |
| Greece Aberdeen | Artist and Entrepreneur | Utilized Midjourney AI to create digital art, which she then sells across various platforms, building multiple income streams without traditional artistic training. |
Tools worth a Saturday
| Tool | For Whom | What To Try |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT (Free tier available) | Content creators, writers, marketers | Use its free tier to generate structured outlines for articles or research summaries, then add your unique voice and expertise. |
| Happycapy (Free) | Solopreneurs, startups, teams exploring automation | Experiment with its browser-based AI agent platform to autonomously execute tasks without needing to write any code or perform installations. |
| ChatPDF (Free for up to 3 PDFs daily, 120 pages each) | Students, researchers, professionals dealing with long documents | Upload a PDF document and ask the AI to summarize its key points, extract specific information, or generate flashcards for study. |
| Taskade (Free with signup, GPT-4 built-in) | Project managers, individuals needing task management and notetaking | Utilize its AI features within your workspaces to help with document formatting, scheduling tasks, or generating content ideas based on your notes. |
| Leonardo.Ai (Free) | Creative professionals, designers, marketers | Generate unique designs or images from a simple text prompt, or use its tools for tasks like background removal to streamline your visual content creation. |
Reskilling worth a Saturday
| Resource | For Whom | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Google Generative AI Leader course (Free) | Business leaders and professionals seeking foundational generative AI knowledge | 7-8 hours |
| Microsoft AI Skills Fest (Free online courses) | General learners, developers, and those interested in generative AI basics | Varies by course (e.g., Minecraft intro to generative AI, GitHub Copilot tutorials) |
| Workplace AI Essentials by Merit America (Free, online) | Workers aiming to use AI tools for productivity and build job-ready projects | 6 weeks |
| AI Upskilling Certificate: Technical Foundations by Qualcomm Academy (Free, online, self-paced) | Developers and engineers looking to expand their AI knowledge | 5 hours across 5 courses |
| Coursera (Free first module/7-day free trial, then paid) | Anyone interested in artificial intelligence, with courses from IBM, DeepLearning.AI, and Google | Varies by course or specialization |
Macro signals
- {'source': 'Anthropic study', 'take': 'Workers in occupations with higher AI exposure are reporting lower unemployment rates, challenging the notion that AI proximity directly leads to job displacement.'}
- {'source': 'Goldman Sachs Research', 'take': 'AI reduced monthly payroll growth by approximately 16,000 jobs in the past year, increasing the unemployment rate by 0.1 percentage point. However, it also increased employment in roles where AI augments human labor.'}
- {'source': 'Challenger, Gray & Christmas', 'take': 'Nearly 50,000 job cuts this year have been linked to AI, accounting for about 17% of the total 300,000 job cuts announced so far in 2026.'}
- {'source': 'Boston Consulting Group (BCG)', 'take': 'Projects that AI could reshape 50% to 55% of U.S. jobs over the next two to three years, and 10% to 15% of jobs could be replaced within the next five years.'}
- {'source': "GoTo study ('The Pulse of Work in 2026')", 'take': '50% of employees admit to relying too much on AI, and 39% believe this overreliance is eroding their skills and critical thinking abilities.'}
Reporting + analyst voices: grounded via Google Search at publish time.