After my recent reflection on: why purpose must become the core curriculum in the AI era, so many readers reached out with a very similar concern. There is a sense that we are preparing people for a future that is disappearing in front of us, and that education is still optimised for a world of linear careers, predictable systems, and slow technological cycles. Yet the world we now inhabit moves at a speed that leaves very little room for such assumptions.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a tool that expands human capability. It is now a force that reshapes the entire landscape of work. Current estimates indicate that almost half of the skills people use today will be significantly disrupted in only a few years. One billion people will require reskilling before the end of this decade. Models that learn, agents that autonomously execute tasks, systems that continuously evolve, and automated decision processes are no longer futuristic concepts. They are already influencing how we learn, how we create, how we allocate resources, and how we define value.
“We are preparing people for a future that no longer exists.”
In the midst of this acceleration, a deeper and more silent crisis is unfolding. While societies invest heavily in digital skills and technical readiness, very few institutions help people answer the question that matters most in moments of profound transformation. Why do we do what we do. This is not a philosophical side note. It is a fundamental human foundation. When everything around us changes faster than our identities can adapt, the absence of purpose becomes destabilising.
Our work with Human Planet has made this clearer than ever. Across humanitarian organisations, climate initiatives, and social ventures, the most painful loss has not been financial. It has been the loss of meaning. When entire teams discover that their missions are suddenly unfunded, many experience a crisis that goes beyond employment. They begin to question the significance of their contribution. They ask who they are when the system that gave their work context is suddenly interrupted. This insight has shaped much of my thinking while writing the second edition of the On Vocation Guide where the erosion of purpose across systems emerges as one of the greatest unaddressed risks of our time .
Artificial intelligence is not replacing human beings. It is replacing human beings who operate without a clear vocation. The distinction matters. Skills can be automated. Identity cannot. Tasks can be delegated. Meaning cannot. AI amplifies the value of those who have clarity of intention and direction. At the same time it exposes the fragility of those who only rely on functional competence.
This is why I insist that we must return to vocation. In the manuscripts of On Vocation I describe vocation not as something that is found, inherited, or gifted, but as something that is deliberately built. Vocation is the alignment between what one values, what one is capable of, and what a community or system genuinely needs. Vocating, in the sense I use it, is the act of dedicating oneself professionally to that alignment and shaping one’s life around a conscious contribution . This is not an abstract idea. It is a deeply practical necessity.
If AI is changing what we do, who is helping us understand why we do it?
Human potential has always been shaped by purpose. However in an era where artificial intelligence becomes the dominant driver of productivity, purpose becomes the dominant driver of relevance. The future will reward individuals who understand themselves, who have cultivated inner coherence, who have developed resilience, who can navigate uncertainty, and who can connect their profession with a meaningful contribution to society.
This is also why vocational education in its traditional definition is no longer sufficient. The world does not need more training limited to technical skills. It needs a new form of vocational education that begins with self-knowledge and grows into societal contribution. In the seven step vocating method included in the chapters of On Vocation I show how individuals reconnect with their passion, design their theory of change, identify the communities they serve, transform stress into growth, and measure their impact in terms of outcomes rather than outputs . These steps do not prepare people for jobs. They prepare them for purpose.
The data reinforces this. Studies presented in my lecture materials show that eighty five percent of professionals remain disengaged. This is not due to lack of ability. It is due to lack of alignment. AI will make this gap wider if we do not redesign our systems around vocation . Engagement grows when people understand why their work matters, when they see the human beings behind their contribution, and when they feel part of a meaningful narrative.
Will we let technology define us or leverage it to define ourselves?
In my work across continents and across organisational systems, I have witnessed many cycles of disruption. I have also seen that every disruption contains an invitation. AI is not asking us to run faster. AI is asking us to become more human. More intentional. More reflective. More aligned. And we actually can leverage AI to do so.
“Vocation” is the deeper intersection of what we are called to contribute and what the world truly needs.
The true risk of the AI era is not technological displacement. It is existential disorientation. Without purpose, human beings become fragile in the face of rapid change. With purpose, they become resilient, creative, adaptable, and capable of turning uncertainty into contribution.
Human Planet emerged from this conviction. resilienture emerged from this conviction. Many of the collaborations that followed emerged from the same recognition. When people rediscover vocation, they do not simply perform better. They transform systems. They create value that is not transactional but relational. They inspire trust. They generate impact that lasts.
AI will continue to transform the nature of work. Purpose must transform the nature of us. The next evolution of education, leadership, and professional development must begin here. It is the only way to ensure that technology enhances humanity instead of eclipsing it.
For now I will simply say that our next global conversation on this topic is coming soon. And it will continue exactly where this reflection ends.
Read the article on Linkedin here.
