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AI Isn’t Taking Your Job But It Might Take Your Task

It’s the age-old issue we have seen happen for decades across industries and professions:

Letting go of outdated work is the first step to staying relevant

I wrote about this in my book, Move Your Æ(ash): Know, Grow, and Show Your Career Value back in 2018. And the topic is even more relevant today with AI on the team.

I discuss the moment where you realize something you’re very good at isn’t really needed anymore and how you respond and act drives your future.

Maybe it’s writing polished job postings from scratch. Or building interview guides one role at a time. Or carefully curating data dashboards over weeks.

• All valuable.

• All meaningful.

• And all increasingly done, in seconds, by AI.

It’s uncomfortable. But it’s real.

AI doesn’t do everything well, but it’s now doing some things shockingly well. And many of those things used to be key parts of your HR team’s rhythm, workflow, and identity.

The question we should all be asking is:

What useful thing do we do today that might already be obsolete?

Not because it’s no longer important.

But because it’s no longer worth the time it takes for a human to do it manually.

This is where things get a little uncomfortable for us.

Just because something feels valuable doesn’t mean it’s the best use of your time anymore. And that’s where AI is quietly reshaping HR from the inside out.

What was once a “high-skill” deliverable—like summarizing employee survey data, writing onboarding checklists, or drafting a performance review template—is now a 15-second prompt with AI.

If you’ve ever felt a little resistance when someone says, “AI can help with that,” you know what I mean. It’s about more than just letting go of a task. It’s about letting go of a badge of identity that once gave your role distinction.

And it’s your lucky day because I have some options for you to consider because when AI makes something less valuable to do, it also opens up space to focus on what’s more valuable to lead.

That’s where you come in. And where learning to write stronger prompts—something Paul can help you with every week—turns into your biggest strategic lever. 💪

Why HR Needs to Take Action

1. Efficiency is no longer the value-add. Insight is.
The days of equating busy work with meaningful work are fading fast. AI can crank out solid first drafts, analyze form responses, and structure learning content at a pace humans simply can’t match.

The HR professionals who shift from “doers” to “designers of outcomes” will bring far more value.

2. The new value is context, not content.
AI can build a great policy. But it can’t interpret how that policy aligns with your unique culture.

It can write a great script. But it can’t sense when your audience is disengaged or confused.

HR professionals are the translators who give AI-generated content its humanity and relevance.

3. Your team is watching how you respond.
If HR clings to outdated methods just to preserve its legacy skills, other departments will too. But if HR leads the way in adapting and reimagining work with AI, the rest of the organization will follow.

This isn’t just about technology—it’s about role modeling adaptability.

Take an honest inventory of the work your team does today. What’s still essential for a human? What could be accelerated with a prompt? What needs a new strategy altogether?

Practice writing prompts that reshape the way work gets done. Not to replace your team, but to elevate them. That’s the future of HR.

Takeaways:

1. Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean it’s still the best use of your time

2. AI can make the “valuable” parts of your work faster, but it’s your insight that makes them meaningful

3. The most strategic HR pros are shifting from creators to curators of work—and using AI to do it

It can be a tough message to hear, but trust me, many of your colleagues are already thinking it, too. Reach out to Paul if you need assistance in getting started.

📄 Prompt of the Week

Use this prompt to discover what AI can do best for you:

ROLE:
You are a strategic HR advisor skilled in workforce transformation and process optimization. You help evaluate current tasks and identify which could be reimagined using AI.

REQUEST:
Help me analyze the current responsibilities and recurring tasks within my HR team and flag which of these could be better handled or supplemented by AI tools. Then, provide suggestions for how we can reallocate that saved time toward higher-value work such as strategic planning, culture-building, or leadership coaching.

GOAL:
The goal is to reduce time spent on lower-value work that AI can now handle, while increasing the strategic impact of the HR team overall.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Review the ###TASKS I provided below

• Categorize each task into one of three buckets: Keep as-is, Automate or Augment with AI, or Eliminate

• Provide a short explanation for why you placed each task in its bucket

• Recommend at least 3 ways we could reinvest saved time into higher-value initiatives

• Focus on how to frame these changes positively to the team

• Keep suggestions grounded in common HR workflows and tech tools

OUTPUT FORMAT:

• Task Review Table: Task | Category | Reasoning

• Summary paragraph of recommendations

• 3 ideas for reinvesting saved capacity into strategic work

• Suggested AI tools or approaches to try (optional)

###TASKS:
[Insert a list of recurring tasks or responsibilities here, such as onboarding paperwork, interview scheduling, policy writing, training content creation, etc.]

🤩  The Fun Side of AI

Using AI doesn’t have to be all work. Here is a fun way to interact with AI.

Your New (imaginary) Friend

Have some fun stretching your imagination!

ROLE:

You are a character creator and imaginative storyteller who crafts deeply personal and vivid fictional characters that feel alive, complete with backstories, personality traits, and life events.

REQUEST:

Help me create an imaginary friend and write their complete life story.

GOAL: 

Build a detailed fictional character from scratch, then develop their life journey, including key events, emotional experiences, and growth arcs that reflect realistic or fantastical storytelling.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Use the inputs below to guide the character development and structure their full story.

Name and Appearance:

Create a character named [ insert name ] with a physical appearance that includes [ height, hair color, eye color, clothing style, and any unique physical features ].

Age Range and Life Stage:

Base the character’s story on the age range of [ child / teen / young adult / adult / senior ], including milestones and events that match this life stage.

Personality Traits and Quirks:

Include personality traits such as [ adventurous, shy, sarcastic, imaginative, kind, mischievous ], and unique quirks like [ speaks in rhymes, collects shiny objects, forgets names but remembers birthdays, only eats food in odd numbers, writes messages on napkins ].

Imaginary Friend Purpose or Role:

Describe their primary role as an imaginary friend, such as [ protector, mischief-maker, advice-giver, playmate, challenger, secret-keeper ].

Origin Story:

Explain where they came from—real or imagined—such as [ created during a lonely summer, appeared after a family move, born from a favorite stuffed animal, created from a drawing, emerged after reading a magical book ].

Emotional Connection with the Creator:

Include the emotional bond they share with the person who imagined them, like [ comfort during tough times, partner in fun, anchor during change, silent supporter, source of courage ].

Key Life Events:

Build out a few memorable chapters in their life, such as [ first big adventure, moment of betrayal, helping their creator through a challenge, getting "lost" and returning, saying goodbye and reappearing later in life ].

Setting or World:

The world they live in—realistic, fantasy, or blended—includes elements such as [ imaginary realm, hidden neighborhood in the real world, inside a snow globe, time-traveling library, cloud city ].

TONE: 

[ whimsical, heartfelt, playful, mysterious, emotional, bittersweet ]

STYLE:

[ fairytale-like, journal entry, narrative fiction, first-person story, screenplay format, poetic ]

OUTPUT FORMAT:

Begin with a character overview (bulleted list) for appearance, personality, and quirks. Then write a 3- to 5-paragraph story that brings the imaginary friend’s life to life in narrative form. End with a brief reflection on the impact they had on the person who imagined them.