I recently gave a webinar on my new book about AI and the future of work and how to future-proof your career. At the core of the webinar was a discussion of ‘Zombie Jobs’ – the term I invented in 2019 to describe a set of mostly white-collar jobs that are being replaced by AI. This was particularly fitting given that the webinar was delivered on Halloween! Here’s a summary of the webinar’s key points.
Artificial Intelligence has arrived in the workplace — and like the steam engine of the 19th century, it’s transforming everything in its path. But as I told audiences in my recent “Zombie Jobs” keynote, not every role will make it out alive.
What’s a Zombie Job?
A Zombie Job is one that looks alive — for now. It still pays a salary, still shows up on the org chart, still fills your diary. But behind the scenes, it’s already dead — the tasks are being automated, the knowledge replicated, the skills commoditised.
As Kevin Roose puts it in Futureproof:
“If you can write a user’s manual for your job and someone else could learn it in a month, you’re probably going to be replaced by a machine.”
The Three Signs Your Job’s Becoming a Zombie
Predictable: If your day can be scripted, AI will learn it.
Repetitive: If you do the same thing twice, a bot can do it faster.
Replaceable: If your value lies in information, not imagination, beware.
As Forbes notes, the jobs most at risk are those built on information gathering, drafting, and standard communication — the white-collar, degree-dependent roles that once looked untouchable.
The Great Irony
Forget the old assumption that AI will only disrupt low-paid work. According to the Financial Times, six-figure jobs are now three times more exposed to AI as those paying $30,000. Harvard Business Review’s data shows that 45% of legal, finance, and IT roles are already “highly automatable.”
Zombie Lives
But it’s not just the jobs that risk zombification — it’s us. In a world where students switch tasks every 65 seconds (Stolen Focus, Hari 2022), distraction and automation are hollowing out attention, purpose, and creativity. We risk becoming spectators in our own working lives.
How to Avoid a Zombie Future
The cure? Become more human than the machines replacing you.
Be versatile. Constantly invest in new skills.
Build networks. AI can’t replicate real relationships.
Toughen up. This isn’t personal — it’s structural.
Think like an actor. Every career now has seasons and roles; reinvent yourself.
Stay creative or get technical. As Matt Britton advises Gen Alpha: “Be deep in an art or deep in a science — everything else will be automated.”
Or, as Kevin Roose wisely adds:
“If someone would pay to watch you do your job, it’s probably safe.”
The Bottom Line
The AI revolution isn’t about man versus machine — it’s about humans who adapt versus humans who don’t.
So ask yourself: is your job future-proof — or already one of the living dead
