The AI ‘tsunami’ is coming and workers need to prepare — because we can’t dodge it
- Gattaca Horizons LLC
- Jan 8
- 4 min read
by Daniel Gorfine, originally published in WSJ+ MarketWatch on January 6, 2026
U.S. labor-market data is beginning to confirm what leading technologists and CEOs have been warning: AI will disrupt jobs — and the clock is ticking.
Recent research out of Stanford University shows that young workers in the most AI-exposed occupations have experienced a 13% relative decline in employment. Meanwhile, “Project Iceberg,” led by MIT and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, concludes that “current AI systems can technically perform approximately 16% of classified labor tasks.”
And this is before the next generation of AI models — more capable, multimodal and tightly integrated into enterprise workflows — enters the mainstream. The window to prepare is rapidly closing — but a new report from JPMorgan Chase finds that 40% of Americans lack basic digital skills.
In the face of such evidence, America’s national response must focus on equipping Americans for the realities of AI-driven change. Calls to “slow down” AI reflect a fear of disruption, but this is not a viable long-term strategy. AI technology is widely available, rapidly improving and advancing globally. Attempts to reverse course will likely prove futile — while enabling foreign competitors and unscrupulous individuals and groups to shape the economy in ways that undermine U.S. interests and values.
Preparing Americans for this change can’t be just lip service with no follow-through. That’s what happened with globalization and offshoring, American politicians talked about the need for job retraining during campaigns, then turned away from actual implementation.
The result was predictable and painful: Millions of American workers, particularly in manufacturing, found their skills rendered obsolete by the modern economy. Entire communities were hollowed out, and this failure has fueled much of the political dissatisfaction, frustration and division that plague the U.S. today. The country grew wealthier overall, but too many were left without meaningful paths to participate in that growth and felt abandoned.
The U.S. cannot repeat this mistake. The next wave of AI-driven transformation will reach far more diverse sectors, including white-collar fields, creative arts, frontline services and even specialized trades.
Meeting this moment requires a national plan for AI preparedness, grounded in four central pillars, transforming education from the earliest grades to late-career retraining.
1. Fundamentally shift how and when technology is introduced in schools: Students should learn how to use AI tools responsibly early in their education, alongside the continued honing of foundational skills — logic, reasoning and analytical abilities. The fear that using AI will “rot the human brain” is akin to the initial reluctance to allow graphing calculators in math classes, with teachers preferring graph paper instead. That view was shortsighted then, and it is now. AI tools should be leveraged to enhance human capability, freeing cognitive bandwidth for higher-level problem-solving and creativity. We must teach our students to become masters of these tools, not servants to them.
2. Get serious about a national AI retraining program: This effort should leverage the private sector and the nation’s community-college system to offer hands-on courses across a broad range of fields and sectors. Such education and apprenticeship programs must be forward-leaning, incorporating adjacent skills training in robotics, cybersecurity, quantum computing and energy development. And crucially, this cannot be limited to “tech” jobs. Plumbers, electricians and other skilled trades will increasingly use AI to optimize supply ordering, research code compliance, perform complex diagnostics and even guide repairs. AI will touch every job — so retraining must be practical and broadly accessible.
3. Encourage AI-enhanced expertise among professionals: Humans will, for the foreseeable future, remain central for complex decision-making, ethical oversight and creative direction. The most productive workers in the coming decades will be those who pair deep knowledge in fields such as medicine, law, architecture and finance with a mastery of AI tools. This combination will make them much more productive and indispensable, turning AI into a force multiplier for human intellect.
4. Maintain a clear view of global developments: We must pay close attention to how authoritarian regimes deploy AI in ways that undermine basic freedoms and distort information environments. America’s strength lies in its principles, values and alliances. The U.S. must work closely with its democratic allies to promote a system that teaches and supports the ethical use of AI and proactively addresses social implications across labor markets, arts and culture, information integrity and basic human dignity.
The AI revolution will bring unprecedented productivity gains and profound societal transformation. The U.S. can lead this revolution and, in doing so, create a future of shared prosperity. But the time to act is now. America can’t afford another generation of misplaced hope, failed retraining efforts and widespread dislocation. This is a challenge of economic survival, national security and human agency. It demands an urgent, unified national effort.
Daniel Gorfine is a former chief innovation officer of the U.S. CFTC, chief executive officer of Gattaca Horizons, and an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.
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