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In the AI-powered job market, knowing what truth looks like will matter most
Tuesday, 5 May, 2026
Since the public release of ChatGPT in late 2022, large language model artificial intelligence systems have become the most rapidly adopted technology in human history. Last March, ChatGPT’s website had 5.7 billion visits, while its competitors Claude and Gemini combined for another 3 billion.Despite how much people are using these services, however, AI still has many critics who argue that they are nothing more than simplistic pattern matchers that are vastly overhyped. While the critics are underestimating what you can do with these systems, they do indeed have a point. LLMs excel at many abstract reasoning tasks but because they have no somatic, embodied connection to reality, there is still a lot that today’s models struggle with. Full cognition depends upon the ability to designate “this” in the world and to compare “what it’s like” based on lived experience.Love it or hate it, this technology has already changed the economies of every country, and this process is only just beginning. No one can say what will happen everywhere, but one thing seems evident: As abstract knowledge of facts becomes commodified, human somatic adjudication will become more valuable than ever before. The future will belong to people who can think across multiple disciplines and who understand what truth looks like, both broadly and in particular.All of this is the topic of a recent essay that my friend Nils Gilman, the former associate chancellor at the University of California–Berkeley and deputy editor of Noema magazine, recently published about future-proofing your career in the age of AI, that is the focus of today’s discussion. The video of our conversation is available. Access the episode page to get the full transcript. You can subscribe to Theory of Change and other Flux podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, YouTube, Patreon, Substack, and elsewhere.Related Content—Big business and government are adopting artificial intelligence, what can it do for the rest of us?—AI is not the main problem—how people use it can be—How you think about minds influences how you treat others—Richard Dawkins and his Claude Delusion—AI content is here to stay, laws and norms need to change accordingly—Why mediocrity just might be the key to innovation—An ancient Greek philosophical tradition has become extremely relevant in the social media age—To build a better future, we must never stop imagining and working for itAudio Chapters00:00 — Introduction06:56 — Large language models’ limitations are where future jobs will flourish15:41 — AI supplementation and the human role in improvement26:14 — Analogies for AI adoption and disruptive technology34:50 — Art, reproduction, and the value of authenticity41:11 — The jobs of the future will be at the intersection of somatic and abstract reasoning46:44 — Liberal education and metacognitive skills54:14 — Porting knowledge from within time and other disciplines Membership BenefitsThis is a free episode of Theory of Change. But in order to keep the show sustainable, the full audio, video, and transcript for some episodes are available to paid subscribers only. The deep conversations we bring you about politics, religion, technology, and media take great time and care to produce. Your subscriptions make Theory of Change possible and we’re very grateful for your help.Please join today to get full access with Patreon or Substack.If you would like to support the show but don’t want to subscribe, you can also send one-time donations via PayPal.If you're not able to support financially, please help us by subscribing and/or leaving a nice review on Apple Podcasts. Doing this helps other people find Theory of Change and our great guests. You can also subscribe to the show on YouTube.About the ShowTheory of Change is hosted by Matthew Sheffield about larger trends and intersections of politics, religion, media, and technology. It's part of the Flux network, a new content community of podcasters and writers. Please visit us at flux.community to learn more and to tell us about what you're doing. We're constantly growing and learning from the great people we meet.Theory of Change on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheoryChangeMatthew Sheffield on Social MediaMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@mattsheffieldTwitter: https://twitter.com/mattsheffieldBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/matthew.flux.community This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plus.flux.community/subscribe
