University of Kwazulu-Natal

The Great Ai Work Shift Is Coming How Agents Robots And People Are

Bonisiwe Shabane
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the great ai work shift is coming how agents robots and people are

Work in the future will be a partnership between people, agents, and robots—all powered by artificial intelligence. While much of the current public debate revolves around whether AI will lead to sweeping job losses, our focus is on how it will change the very building blocks of work—the skills that underpin... Our research suggests that although people may be shifted out of some work activities, many of their skills will remain essential. They will also be central in guiding and collaborating with AI, a change that is already redefining many roles across the economy. In this research, we use “agents” and “robots” as broad, practical terms to describe all machines that can automate nonphysical and physical work, respectively. Many different technologies perform these functions, some based on AI and others not, with the boundaries between them fluid and changing.

Using the terms in this expansive way lets us analyze how automation reshapes work overall.1Our analysis considers a broader range of automation technologies than the narrow definition of agents commonly used in the AI... For more on how we define the term, see the Glossary. This report builds on McKinsey’s long-running research on automation and the future of work. Earlier studies examined individual activities, while this analysis also looks at how AI will transform entire workflows and what this means for skills. New forms of collaboration are emerging, creating skill partnerships between people and AI that raise demand for complementary human capabilities. Although the analysis focuses on the United States, many of the patterns it reveals—and their implications for employers, workers, and leaders—apply broadly to other advanced economies.

We find that currently demonstrated technologies could, in theory, automate activities accounting for about 57 percent of US work hours today.2Our analysis focuses exclusively on paid productive hours in the US workforce, encompassing full-time... We assess only the share of time awake that is spent on work-related activities, totaling roughly 45 percent of waking hours. Our analysis excludes time spent on unpaid tasks and leisure, but agents and robots could be used in related activities to support productivity and personal well-being. This estimate reflects the technical potential for change in what people do, not a forecast of job losses. As these technologies take on more complex sequences of tasks, people will remain vital to make them work effectively and do what machines cannot. Our assessment reflects today’s capabilities, which will continue to evolve, and adoption may take decades.

Early signals don't point to a labor market apocalypse—they point to a choice. The right business decisions can help spark the best outcome possible. Every major technological wave raises the same question: what does this mean for jobs and work? History provides a useful lens. The steam engine industrialized muscle, pulling workers into centralized factories and remapping where they lived. Electricity followed, powering mass production and extending work beyond daylight hours.

And in the mid-20th century, mainframes and early computers automated routine office work, eliminating some roles and creating whole new professions. AI is driving a similar shift, but faster. For the first time, growth, employment, and learning are moving on different timelines. Powerful forces are already emerging from Frontier Firms: specialization costs are plummeting, and work is being rebuilt for human–agent collaboration. Productivity is becoming less about headcount and more about how effectively humans and agents work together. We’re well past debating whether AI will change the labor market.

It will. The real question is what the first wave of evidence is telling us—and where it points next. There’s little evidence of an AI-fueled jobs collapse. Recent studies from The Brookings Institution and The Budget Lab at Yale show that total employment has remained steady since the debut of gen AI in 2022. But we can look to the technology sector as a leading indicator of how AI might impact the labor market. After all, roughly 70% of tech firms now deploy paid AI tools, compared with 40% across other industries.

A new report from McKinsey Global Institute tackles one of the most pressing fears of the modern economy: the sweeping job displacement threatened by artificial intelligence. While McKinsey’s research indicates that current technologies could, in theory, automate about 57% of U.S. work hours, the consulting firm concludes that this high figure measures technical potential in tasks, not the inevitable loss of jobs. Instead of mass replacement, the research by Lareina Yee, Anu Madgavkar, Sven Smit, Alexis Krivkovich, Michael Chui, María Jesús Ramírez, and Diego Castresana argues that the future of work will be defined by partnerships... Their report, “Agents, robots, and us: Skill partnerships in the age of AI,” emphasizes that capturing AI’s massive potential economic value—about $2.9 trillion in the U.S. by 2030—depends entirely on human guidance and organizational redesign.

The primary reason AI will not result in half the workforce being immediately sidelined is the enduring relevance of human skills. While they will be applied differently, McKinsey’s analysis shows a significant overlap in required capabilities: More than 70% of the skills sought by employers today are used in both automatable and non-automatable work. This suggests that as adoption advances, most skills will remain relevant, but how and where they are used will evolve. For example, highly specialized and automatable cognitive skills, such as routine accounting processes and specific programming languages, could face the greatest disruption. Yet even as AI takes over tasks like preparing documents and basic research, workers will still be required to apply their existing skills in new contexts, focusing instead on framing questions and interpreting results. Crucially, skills rooted in social and emotional intelligence—such as interpersonal conflict resolution, design thinking, and negotiation and coaching—will remain uniquely human, demanding empathy, creativity, and contextual understanding that are challenging for machines to replicate.

Furthermore, skills related to assisting and caring are likely to change the least. Ibrahim Jackson, Founder & CEO Ubiquitous Preferred Services. Technology continues to reshape how we work. Along this path, agentic AI, systems that can plan, act and learn independently, are becoming a reality. These new systems promise new efficiencies in automating tasks and how organizations operate and leverage existing resources. While the opportunities for increased efficiency and innovation are immense, these new AI systems also present a new set of challenges for the human workforce, demanding a strategic approach to maximize current assets.

"But, I thought AI would replace human workers." Frankly, I find this line of thought boring at this point; the truth is more nuanced. Agentic AI excels at processing data and executing complex tasks, but it lacks the human element: emotional intelligence (EI). Emotional intelligence is the ability to leverage self and social awareness to navigate complex interactions, strengthen relationships and remove friction for smoother, more efficient workflows. Chatbots once symbolized digital transformation — those polite text boxes on corporate websites and service portals promised to make support smarter and cheaper. The addition of generative AI (genAI) to the tools in recent years has made them seem more natural in conversations, but they’re still just automated answer engines. Now as 2025 comes to an end, traditional chatbots are beginning to look like relics of an earlier era.

A new wave of agentic AI is taking shape: systems that not only converse but also reason, plan, and act within enterprise workflows. These agents are not assistants that talk; they are digital colleagues that think. Across industries, companies are reengineering their operations to harness this new capability. They’re discovering that agentic AI isn’t simply an upgrade to chatbots — it’s a redefinition of how digital work gets done. Jesse Flores, founder and CEO of web development firm SuperWebPros, has watched this transition unfold firsthand. “Traditional chatbots,” he said, “were basically decision trees — if keyword X, then response Y.” They worked well for FAQs and appointment scheduling, but their world was bounded by the script.

Even when connected to large language models such as GPT-5, most chatbots still lack deep knowledge of a company’s data or business context. “They’re language-driven responders,” Flores explained. “They talk, but they don’t think or act.” As AI matures, the availability of so-called “digital labor” is exploding, expanding the very definition of a qualified workforce. What was once the exclusive domain of human talent has now been joined by AI agents capable of handling many tasks once considered beyond the reach of automation—and as a result, according to Salesforce... Hey there, fellow job seekers, career changers, and curious minds!

👋 Have you ever found yourself scrolling through the news, seeing headlines about AI, and wondering, "What does this mean for my job? For our jobs?" It's a question that's on a lot of minds in 2025, and honestly, it's one I've been grappling with too. The rise of AI agents isn't just a tech trend; it's a profound shift that's reshaping the very fabric of our professional lives. For years, we've heard the whispers and seen the predictions: "Robots are coming for our jobs!" or "AI will create entirely new industries!" But in 2025, we're past the whispers and firmly in the... AI agents – those intelligent, autonomous systems designed to perform tasks, solve problems, and even interact with us – are no longer just concepts in a lab. They're here, they're evolving rapidly, and they're integrating into workplaces across the globe.

So, what's the real story? Is it a doomsday scenario, a utopian dream, or something in between? As someone deeply fascinated by the intersection of technology and human potential, I've dived deep into the latest data, reports, and expert opinions to bring you a clear, friendly, and comprehensive look at what's... My goal isn't to scare you or sugarcoat anything, but to equip you with the knowledge and strategies you need to navigate this exciting, sometimes challenging, new landscape. Let's explore what the data in 2025 is actually telling us about AI agents and human jobs. 🚀

Before we dive into the data, let's make sure we're all on the same page about what we mean by "AI agents." It's a term that's sometimes used interchangeably with "AI," but there's a... Think of traditional AI as a tool – like a very smart calculator or a powerful search engine. You give it an input, and it gives you an output. An AI agent, however, is more like a proactive assistant. It's a system designed to:

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