We Need to Separate Self-Worth from Work in the AI Era

For decades, AI replacing humans in the workforce has been a part of a dystopian vision. Now, it is becoming reality . This year alone, AI adoption has driven more than 10,000 job cuts in America. For a culture like ours, which so closely equates value with productivity, this disruption poses an existential threat as much as an economic one. It’s not only the loss of income we fear. It’s the loss of identity.

As AI becomes more capable, many workers will be left wondering: Who are we beyond our work, our titles, our productivity?

I had to confront that question years before AI forced the rest of us to.

In 2018, the company I had spent a decade building was on the verge of collapse. I was the CEO and co-founder of Embrace, a social enterprise that invented a low-cost, portable infant