What You Automate, You May Weaken
Are we building talent — or automating it away?
AI is making a lot of noise in the workplace, but I have a question that has been eating me up inside: are we actually thinking about how to grow talent while “the robots are coming for our jobs”?
If you’re early in your career, you’re probably wondering (loudly and with good reason): Is AI about to take my entry-level job?
Meanwhile, business leaders are doing what they do best by asking if they can save a pile of money by swapping people for AI. (Spoiler: probably not if you’re thinking about replacing your lawyer.)
AI can do some incredible things, no doubt.
But the real issue isn’t whether AI can check a box or finish a task.
The real challenge for everyone (job seekers, new hires, startups, and big companies) is this:
Are we, together, actually building the next generation of talent, or are we just letting AI eat all the entry-level work?
Here’s what I want to tackle in this Denham Dispatch:
First, for anyone just starting out: how do you actually add value and build a career when it feels like AI is doing everything you were hired to do? The answer: focus on the soft skills and the little things. This is the stuff AI just can’t do. That’s how you become someone with real skills and capabilities, rather than just a task robot.
Second, for established businesses: a word of caution before you swap out your entry-level folks for AI. Sure, you might save a few bucks in the short term, but you’re risking your talent pipeline, AKA your real long-term edge.
For startups, I want to highlight why the AI temptation is even more dangerous. When you’re building a company from scratch, every person needs to grow into multiple roles. Skip that growth, and you’ll find yourself with capabilities gaps at the worst possible time.
For New Employees
You keep hearing that AI is coming for all the classic entry-level tasks: putting together presentations, reviewing contracts, and scheduling meetings. And yes, that’s happening. But it doesn’t mean you’re doomed if you’re new on the job.
If you’re doing these kinds of tasks as a new hire, here’s the secret: at the best companies, your job isn’t just about checking “task complete” box. Each task is actually a designed chance to learn something deeper that will help you level up in your career.
Putting together a finalized presentation is a way for you to understand the big picture of a transaction, deal, or pitch, so you can see why things are structured the way they are.
Reviewing a contract is a way for you to learn what the key terms are in your industry, so you can learn what certain things are heavily negotiated, and why. Then, one day, you will be able to negotiate them.
Scheduling meetings is a way to get your name in front of decision-makers for the companies your employer works with. It’s not about who you know; it’s about who knows you.
See the pattern?
Every one of these tasks has a hidden lesson.
If you concentrate on mastering those skills and grabbing those opportunities, the robot overlords will struggle mightily to take your job.
For Established Businesses
If you’re running a business, you’re probably feeling the squeeze to keep costs down. Either from your board, your management team, or just the reality of the numbers.
That’s where the AI pitch starts to sound pretty good. For less than the cost of an entry-level salary, you can keep expenses down and maybe even boost productivity.
But here’s the thing: we’re still in the early innings of the AI game. Maybe these productivity gains will be world-changing, maybe not. But there’s another angle to think about before you start swapping out your entry-level team for AI.
You might win in the short term, but you’re giving up long-term gains and your competitive edge.
In plain English: you’re wrecking your talent pipeline, and that’s a mistake you’ll feel for years.
Executives in every field always speak about how they prefer to grow talent from within their organizations rather than paying hefty sums to bring in developed professionals from the outside.
This is especially true in my field of law and (in professional services generally). One of the secrets of the legal profession is that law school doesn’t actually teach students how to be a lawyer. Because of this, firms often have to invest several years of teaching into an associate to help them develop skills and a specialization to help their career and the firm take off.
Think of those entry-level tasks that seem ripe for AI replacement. They have value beyond simply “completing the task.” When a junior associate reviews a contract, they’re not just running down a checklist and filling in brackets. They’re also learning to spot issues, understand client priorities, and develop judgment. When they compile research, they’re also building a mental model of how deals are structured. Replace those “also” learnings with AI, and five years later, you’ll have a senior associate who can prompt an AI but can’t make decisions on their own.
The same principle applies across industries. Entry-level employees aren’t just doing tasks—they’re developing into your future leaders. Cut that development short, and you’ll find yourself with a hollowed-out organization: senior people with no one ready to replace them, and junior people who never learned the fundamentals.
For Startups In Particular
For startups, the AI pitch is even more tempting. Money is tight, timelines are crazy, and you’ll likely have to pivot just to survive. Cheap, fast, and always-on AI sounds like the answer to all your problems.
But here’s the catch: all the downsides of replacing people with AI are even bigger for startups.
If you’re a startup, you can’t afford to have people who only do one thing. Your lead coder is also helping with marketing. Your best marketer is jumping in on customer support. Your CEO is doing everything from hiring to bookkeeping to writing a little code.
Opting to use AI rather than having employees get their feet wet with these tasks will ensure the skills never develop. And, unlike in a more established business, startups likely do not have the resources to hire someone with these skills if AI can’t do something.
Talent development isn’t a luxury. It’s your competitive edge.
Whether you’re just starting a business or deep into running one, the real question isn’t “can AI do this task?” It’s “What skills are we actually building in our people?”
So, What To Do
Entry Level
For new entry-level employees, focus on the “why” of the tasks you are doing to develop that all-important context.
Ask questions and lots of them. When you get a task, don’t just do it. Figure out why it matters. Why is this presentation set up like this? Why does this contract term always get so much attention? Why does this client always want morning meetings? The answers are where you build the skills AI can’t touch.
Get in front of decision makers whenever you can. AI can write the email, but it can’t build a business relationship. Volunteer for client meetings, even if you’re just there to take notes. When you schedule a meeting, add a smart internal note showing that you get the bigger picture. People remember who shows up and adds value.
Take on the unclear and soft-skill problems. AI is great at tasks with explicit instructions, but it falls apart when things get fuzzy. If there’s no template, that’s your chance to jump in. If people are butting heads, help resolve the issue. That’s where you prove your value.
Make a point to learn how things really work. Watch how decisions get made, which projects flopped and why, and which clients have their own quirks. Write down what you learn. That’s the kind of knowledge that makes you irreplaceable.
Most important of all: your job isn’t just to check off tasks. It’s to build real skills. Every assignment is a chance to get better at something that will help you for years. AI can do the work, but only you can build your career.
For Established Businesses
Protect your talent pipeline. Sure, AI can handle a lot of entry-level work, but those tasks aren’t only about getting things done. They’re about building your future team. Before you swap out junior roles for AI, ask yourself: who’s going to be ready to lead in five years? Who’s going to know how things really work?
Be intentional about developing your people. If you’re using AI for the routine stuff, make sure your junior employees still get substantive learning experiences. Rotate them through different teams. Let them sit in on client calls. Give them projects outside of their typical team. The goal: make sure they’re still building the skills they’d get from those “AI-able” tasks.
Double down on mentorship. AI can finish a task, but it can’t explain why your company does things a certain way or help a new hire figure out the politics of a deal. Senior folks need to spend more time, not less, helping junior employees understand the why behind the work.
Track whether your people are actually growing, not simply getting tasks done. Are your junior employees learning to think strategically? Are they building relationships? Are they developing judgment? If AI is getting the work done but your people aren’t getting better, you’re winning the short game and losing the long one.
For Startups
From day one, hire people who can learn quickly and wear many hats. In a startup, you can’t afford one-trick ponies. Bring on people who want to grow, and give them the chance to actually do it.
Treat every hire like they could be your next leader. That first customer support person might end up running product. Your first ops hire could be your future COO. Make sure they get the experience they need to grow into those roles. Let them wrestle with the tough stuff instead of just handing it all to AI.
Build a culture where everyone is expected to keep learning. Celebrate when someone picks up a new skill. Give people room to learn by doing, even if AI could do it faster. Your startup’s long-term success depends on having a team that can adapt and grow.
Closing
The AI revolution is real, but it’s not the story we think it is. The question isn’t whether AI can do entry-level work. The question is whether we’re building the capabilities and skills employees need for the future.
For individuals, this means treating every task as a chance for learning. You do this by focusing relentlessly on developing the judgment, relationships, and contextual knowledge that AI cannot duplicate. Your career isn’t built on tasks completed, and it’s built on capabilities developed.
For businesses, remember: entry-level employees aren’t just a line item. They’re your future. Saving money with AI now can leave you with big gaps later that cost way more to fix. The winners won’t be the companies that replaced junior employees the fastest. The winners will be those who figured out how to actually develop talent in the age of AI.
We’re not facing a choice between humans and AI.
We’re facing a choice between building capabilities and optimizing for task completion.
Choose wisely.