Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The headlines are relentless. AI is coming for jobs. Automation will replace workers. The robots are winning. But here’s what the breathless coverage often misses: while your job might be at risk, your financial future doesn’t have to be.
The data tells a complex story that demands a controversial solution. If technology is systematically replacing human labor, workers need to flip the script entirely and become the owners of that technology. The question isn’t whether to resist the tide, but whether you’re smart enough to ride it.
The Numbers Don’t Lie (But They’re More Nuanced Than You Think)
Recent analysis reveals that while 85 million jobs will be displaced by 2025, 97 million new roles will simultaneously emerge, representing a net positive job creation of 12 million positions globally. That sounds reassuring until you dig deeper into who wins and who loses in this transition.
Customer service representatives face 80% automation rates by 2025, data entry clerks could see 7.5 million positions eliminated by 2027, and retail cashiers face 65% automation risk by 2025. The pattern is clear: routine, predictable tasks are in the crosshairs.
But here’s where it gets personal. Gender disparities are significant, with 58.87 million women in the US workforce occupying positions highly exposed to AI automation compared to 48.62 million men. Meanwhile, workers aged 18-24 are 129% more likely than those over 65 to worry AI will make their job obsolete.
The displacement isn’t theoretical anymore. In 2025, 76,440 positions were eliminated due to AI. And employment for software developers aged 22-25 declined by nearly 20% compared to its peak in late 2022. Even the tech workers building these systems aren’t immune.
The Defensive Play: Become What You Fear
Here’s the uncomfortable truth that most career advisors won’t tell you: retraining might not be enough. 77% of new AI jobs require master’s degrees, creating substantial skills gaps. The barrier to entry for the “new economy” jobs is extraordinarily high, and most displaced workers won’t clear it.
So what’s a pragmatic worker to do? Own the means of automation.
If companies are going to replace human workers with software and robots to boost their profit margins, workers should position themselves to capture those profits as shareholders. This isn’t capitulation. It’s strategic adaptation.
Consider the mathematics. Since 2022 when awareness of AI’s power surged, revenue growth in industries best positioned to adopt AI has nearly quadrupled. Furthermore, wages are rising twice as quickly in those industries most exposed to AI compared to those least exposed. The companies deploying automation are thriving, and their shareholders are reaping rewards.
Rather than fighting a losing battle to save jobs that economics will eliminate anyway, workers should redirect their energy toward building ownership stakes in the companies driving this transformation.
The Investment Arsenal: Specific Vehicles for the AI Age
The good news is that you don’t need millions of dollars or insider connections to invest in automation. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer everyday investors diversified exposure to the companies building and deploying AI and robotics.
The Robotics & AI Core Holdings
The Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ) invests in companies expected to benefit from increased adoption of robotics and AI, including Nvidia, Intuitive Surgical, and ABB. With just over half its portfolio invested outside the US and significant allocation to Japan, BOTZ provides global exposure to automation.
The Robo Global Robotics & Automation Index ETF (ROBO) includes 77 holdings with a mix of large, mid, and small-cap companies based in North America, Asia, and Europe. While it carries a higher 0.95% expense ratio, it offers exposure to companies making innovative developments in robotics, automation, and AI.
The iShares AI Innovation and Tech Active ETF (BAI) takes a concentrated approach with just 39 holdings, using a bottom-up stock-picking strategy focused on individual company fundamentals.
The Broader Technology Play
AI-related companies aren’t confined to technology stocks, appearing also in communication services, consumer discretionary, and even real estate stocks like data center REITs such as Equinix and Digital Realty that supply the physical infrastructure needed to support AI’s computing demands.
The returns aren’t hypothetical. As of June 2025, BOTZ has posted a strong three-year return of 17.3%, testament to the rising demand for smart machines and intelligent systems across industries.
The Upskilling Imperative: Don’t Skip This Step
Owning automation stocks shouldn’t be your only defense. The data on wage growth tells an important story. Wages are rising for AI-powered workers even in the most highly automatable roles, suggesting that concerns that AI is devaluing automatable roles in the aggregate may be misplaced.
Translation: workers who learn to work alongside AI are seeing their value increase, not decrease.
Rather than focusing solely on traditional career paths, workers should look for roles that bridge domains, positions that combine human judgment with AI capabilities, or that translate between technical systems and business needs.
The key insight for job-seekers is that industry boundaries are blurring faster than job categories are crystallizing. Your goal isn’t to become an AI engineer (unless you want to invest years in education). It’s to become “AI-adjacent” in your current field.
Project management and UX design are among the most recommended upskilling paths for US workers in 2025, with lifelong learning and upskilling now a top priority for 75% of US employers.
The Controversial Core: Should Workers Fund Their Own Replacement?
Here’s where this strategy gets philosophically uncomfortable. By investing in companies that are automating jobs, aren’t workers essentially funding their own displacement?
Yes. And that’s precisely the point.
The automation is happening regardless of your investment choices. 40% of employers expect to reduce their workforce where AI can automate tasks. You can’t stop this train, but you can buy a ticket.
Critics will argue this approach is defeatist, that workers should fight for better policies, stronger unions, or universal basic income instead. That’s a fine long-term political strategy, but it does nothing for your family’s finances next quarter when your employer announces “restructuring.”
The reality is more pragmatic: 92 million jobs are projected to be displaced by 2030, with 170 million new ones emerging, but these aren’t direct exchanges happening in the same locations with the same individuals. While policy fights rage and retraining programs slowly scale, your rent is still due.
The Dual Strategy: Income and Ownership
The most sophisticated approach combines immediate income protection with long-term wealth building through ownership.
Near-Term: Become AI-Literate in Your Current Role
Research shows that 66% of workers are worried about falling behind at work if they don’t know how to use AI tools. Don’t be that person. Companies like Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and IKEA are providing AI literacy training to tens of thousands of workers. If your employer offers training, take it. If they don’t, invest in yourself through online courses.
Healthcare systems need people who understand both patient care and data analytics; manufacturing plants need operators who can work alongside automated systems. Your existing industry knowledge combined with basic AI literacy creates more opportunities than starting from scratch in a completely new field.
Long-Term: Build Your Automation Portfolio
Start systematically investing in automation-focused ETFs. Even small amounts matter. If automation is going to deliver productivity gains and profit growth to companies deploying it, you want to own a piece of that growth.
Consider dollar-cost averaging into positions in BOTZ, ROBO, or broader technology ETFs. The goal isn’t to get rich quick but to ensure that as human labor becomes less valuable relative to automated labor, you own the automated labor.
The Hard Truth About Winners and Losers
By 2030, 30% of current US jobs could be fully automated, while 60% will see significant task-level changes due to AI integration. This shift is inevitable and accelerating.
The uncomfortable reality is that this transition will create two classes: those who own the automation and those who compete against it. The gap between these groups will widen dramatically.
Workers who both upskill to remain relevant in the AI-augmented economy and build ownership stakes in automation technologies will thrive. Those who do neither will face increasing economic pressure. Those who do only one will tread water.
The Time to Act Is Now
The transition is already underway. The real challenge isn’t only about job numbers; it’s about the gap between where jobs vanish and where they come back, between the skills workers possess and the skills that new roles require.
You can’t stop technology from advancing. You can’t prevent companies from optimizing their labor costs. But you can control your response to these forces.
Become AI-literate in your current role. Build positions in automation-focused investments. Develop skills that complement rather than compete with AI. And most importantly, stop viewing technology companies as the enemy and start viewing them as investment opportunities.
The future belongs to those who own it, not those who work for it. Choose accordingly.
