When AI does most of the work, what is left for us?

The question was not directed at anyone, but I felt as though a blade had been pressed to my back.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept. It has seeped into every corner of life and work, from customer service and content creation to data analysis and software development.

As a content creator, I initially welcomed AI as a "smart assistant." But that early enthusiasm has slowly been replaced by a persistent anxiety: Am I still necessary? Am I already being replaced?

When tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and the Chinese open-source platform DeepSeek were first launched, my colleagues and I were genuinely excited. We could draft faster, explore richer ideas, correct errors, and improve phrasing with ease.

What once took hours could now be completed in minutes. From articles and video scripts to entire media plans, AI accelerated everything. It felt like a magic wand opening new creative frontiers. I believed that if I used AI wisely, I could secure my job and boost productivity two- or even threefold.

ChatGPT logo on a smatphone screen. Photo from AFP

But that sense of optimism has since given way to doubt.

In a recent meeting, my boss posed the question again: "If AI can now write decent blog posts, do we still need the entire content team?" Though rhetorical, the remark struck deep.

I started reexamining my work. Writing once required deep research, personal insight, experience, and authentic emotion. But today, many clients prioritize speed and quantity over depth. If AI can do 70–80% of my job, is the remaining portion enough to justify my role?

I am not alone in this concern. A friend who works in graphic design shared that clients now often request AI-generated mockups using ChatGPT or DeepSeek "just for fun" before deciding whether to hire a real designer. Similarly, many programmers are now expected to use AI to speed up their coding, yet they too worry about gradually losing their core skills.

What troubles me most is how dependent I have become. The more I rely on AI, the less I think independently. I often accept suggestions without questioning the logic. Some of my articles have become mere rearrangements of machine-generated content, lacking my own voice.

It raises an unsettling question: Am I surrendering the very human value I bring to the job?

In today’s productivity-driven world, speed and cost often outweigh everything else. AI is no longer just a tool, it is becoming the standard. And when humans are measured against machines, we fall short. Not because we are incapable, but because we are fundamentally different.

AI does not need rest, demand raises, or experience burnout. But it also lacks emotion, intuition, and the subtle, human details that give creative work its soul. I once believed mastering AI would keep me relevant. But now I realize the greater challenge lies in redefining our place in a world increasingly shaped by machines.

Rather than competing in a race we cannot win, maybe we should return to what makes us human: empathy, imagination, critical thinking, ethics, and a human-centered perspective. AI can write a poem, but only people can truly feel it. AI can mimic a painting, but only an artist knows what they mean to express.

Perhaps the future market will split, one side dominated by mass-produced, AI-generated content; the other, by human-crafted works that carry depth and emotional value, where people still pay more for authenticity and uniqueness.

The fear surrounding AI is not just about job loss. It is about self-doubt: Am I becoming passive? Am I allowing AI to reshape how I think and work?

There may be no universal answer. But one thing is clear, this fear is not weakness, but a wake-up call.

A call to reflect trc on our true strengths. A reminder that humans must remain at the center, AI is just a tool.

*Readers' opinions are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress' viewpoints.