According to the Oxford World Economic Forum's Jobs Report 2025, future jobs will heavily depend on AI. The report says, “technological literacy, particularly AI and big data, alongside cognitive skills like creative thinking, flexibility, and resilience, are critical” from now on.
Consequently, there will be significant changes in the job market, as AI will take over many jobs, replacing human workers who do not cope well with radical changes. The report states, “Technology, AI, and automation will drive significant churn, creating 170 million new jobs but displacing 92 million, with a net gain of 78 million roles by 2030.” As a result, many jobs will inevitably be replaced by AI, such as “clerical, administrative, cashier, and some manual roles.”
Given these big changes, many parents are concerned about their children’s future. The reason is simple but compelling: If their children choose the wrong occupations, they will be replaced by AI. Naturally, they want to know which jobs are safe from the overwhelming threats of ubiquitous AI.
A list based on the above OWEF report 2025 lays out 10 jobs unlikely to be replaced. The top of the list is a psychiatrist, who needs the ability to detect a patient’s subtle emotional changes and complex thoughts and feelings. We might assume that AI can be an excellent counselor, but we would be wrong. Newspaper reports say that since AI is logical, it frequently agrees with troubled adolescents who consult it, and can support rather than combat suicidal ideation. Indeed, complex psychological issues cannot be solved by logic alone.
The second job that AI cannot replace is that of a plumber. Plumbing requires skills when encountering complicated problems in residential buildings regarding water and waste systems. As a skilled tradesperson, a plumber “installs, repairs, and maintains pipes, fixtures, and appliances,” which AI cannot possibly do. In America, plumbing is so expensive that there is a joke: “A boyfriend who has plumbing skills is the best future husband.”
Social workers occupy third place. A social worker must mediate complicated family relations with reference to abuse, poverty or adoption, which AI cannot do well without a manual. Thus, “social worker” is a safe and sound job that will continue to prevail.
The fourth is medics and firefighters. Their jobs demand intuitive, human judgment amid danger and fast reactions to complicated emergencies. Indeed, we cannot solely rely on AI when it comes to medical emergencies or fire accidents because we need to make spontaneous decisions and take fast actions to save lives in urgent events.
Kindergarten and special needs teachers occupy fifth place. Teachers must understand and embrace “sentiment, emotions,” and “unexpected behaviors” in little kids or special needs children. Both occupations require special skills and warm affection toward children who need special care. We can hardly expect AI to take care of them as much as dedicated human teachers.
The sixth is a CEO, who can present a vision for the uncertain future and assume the final responsibility for a company. In this case, a CEO means not only company CEOs but also all the leaders, including the president of a country. AI, however, can easily excel over incompetent CEOs who do not have visions for the future and who are past-oriented or ideologically obsessed.
The seventh job is that of an art director: a job that requires creativity and philosophical planning suitable to the era. Someday, however, AI may replace art directors, too, when it becomes creative enough and does philosophical planning by itself.
The eighth untouchable job in the list is a surgeon. They must react to emergencies fast, and judge correctly when and if exquisite manual handwork is necessary. Currently, however, AI is doing major surgeries at hospitals already under the supervision of human surgeons. In the future, AI may be able to operate on patients without the supervision of human doctors.
Athletes come in ninth. Sports stars touch our hearts by challenging physical human limits and provide realistic live games to cheering audiences. AI athletes do not have to challenge the limits and cannot provide live games as human athletes do. Thus, AI athletes cannot move our hearts.
The tenth irreplaceable occupation is the clergyman who counsels our agonies, inspires deep human relationships, and gives guidance for faith and the cultivation of the spirit. A priest or a pastor is a spiritual leader who can calm our hearts and inspire our souls. That kind of sacred vocation cannot be replaced by AI.
It is amusing but disheartening that the list does not include professors, schoolteachers, scholars, researchers, computer scientists, accountants, technicians, judges, lawyers, prosecutors or politicians. It would unnerve us when and if AI takes over all those occupations in the future.
Nevertheless, it is comforting that there are still jobs that AI cannot take over, at least for the time being.
Kim Seong-Kon
Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. The views expressed here are the writer's own. -- Ed
khnews@heraldcorp.com
