The TechEd Podcast

What jobs will AI replace, and which ones will become more valuable?
Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, recently wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal about how he chose which employees to replace with AI. His argument: AI is not coming equally for every role. It's coming first for the people inside organizations who measure, report, analyze, audit, manage, and process information.
In this solo episode of The TechEd Podcast, Matt Kirchner responds to Prince’s article and examines what it reveals about the future of work. Drawing on Peter Drucker’s framework of builders, sellers, and measurers, Matt breaks down why some jobs are likely to be heavily disrupted while others may become even more valuable.
The uncomfortable truth: AI may reduce the need for many traditional middle management, finance, operations, and me
asurement-heavy roles. But it also increases the value of people who create products, build relationships, solve customer problems, lead change, and turn technology into business value.
From sales and engineering to marketing, STEM education, data science, and applied AI, this episode explores where human talent still matters most, and what businesses, educators, and professionals need to do now to prepare for the next phase of workforce disruption.
5 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. Businesses need to start their AI journey now. AI is already changing how companies operate, compete, hire, and structure their teams. Organizations that have not assigned someone to understand how AI will disrupt their business, market, or institution are already behind.
2. Measurers and mid-level managers will be disrupted the most. Roles centered on reporting, processing, auditing, analyzing, tracking, and managing information are increasingly vulnerable to AI. The opportunity is not to ignore that disruption, but to become the person who knows how to use AI to do that work better, faster, and more strategically.
3. Personal relationships become more important in the AI age, not less. AI can automate parts of sales, marketing, and customer engagement, but it cannot earn trust the way people do. Sellers who understand customer needs, build relationships, solve problems, and use data intelligently will remain critical to business growth.
4. Creativity and leadership still rule the day. AI gives more people access to the same tools, but it does not replace the ability to see opportunity, connect ideas, build a brand, lead change, or execute a vision. In marketing, business leadership, product strategy, and innovation, creative and decisive people will continue to create value.
5. The future belongs to builders. Engineers, skilled tradespeople, manufacturing talent, STEM professionals, automation specialists, and applied AI practitioners are positioned to become even more important. If AI makes builders more productive, companies will need more of them, not fewer, especially in fields tied to physical AI, robotics, smart manufacturing, autonomous systems, drones, and the edge-to-cloud continuum
Resources in this Episode:
Read Matthew Prince's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal: "How I Choose Which Cloudflare Employees to Replace With AI"
Episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/cloudflare/
We want to hear from you! Send us a text.
Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn

Exponential technologies, humanity-centric innovation, ethics in AI, passion and purpose, and the intersection of business and technology all point to one urgent question: How do we prepare the next generation to build solutions that are both economically viable and good for humanity?
This is a question we explore with Pete Dulcamara - scientist, former VP of Research at Kimberly-Clark and author of High-Tech Heroes.
We may be entering a new renaissance of innovation, driven by the convergence of human need, business model disruption and fast-moving technology. Global companies are rethinking how products create real human value, exponential technologies are advancing faster than institutions can adapt, and a new generation is entering the workforce with different expectations for purpose, impact and responsibility.
For Dulcamara, the opportunity is not technology for technology’s sake. AI, robotics, biotechnology, autonomous systems and additive manufacturing could help solve some of the world’s hardest problems, but only if they are paired with ethical judgment and economic viability. That's where education has to adapt. Students must learn exponential technologies and also how to apply their skills to these humanity-centric questions.
In this episode:
Redefining "billionaire" and how you can become one
The difference between consumer-centric, business-centric and humanity-centric innovation
What we mean by “data is the new oil, AI is the new electricity, and robotics is the new steel”
Moving technical education from STEM to “STEM to the power of E”
EQ, AQ and the skills the next generation may need more than IQ in the age of AI
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. Humanity-centric innovation requires purpose and profit to work together.
Pete Dulcamara defines humanity-centric innovation as solving major human problems through viable business models and exponential technologies. The point is not charity, but scalable solutions that create competitive advantage while improving people’s lives.
2. The next era of technology will be built on data, AI and robotics.
Dulcamara compares data to the new oil, AI to the new electricity and robotics to the new steel. As these technologies converge, companies and schools will need to prepare people for a world where intelligent systems reshape products, industries and work itself.
3. Technical education has to teach more than technical skill.
As AI makes answers easier to access, students will need stronger curiosity, ethical judgment and adaptability. Dulcamara argues that STEM should be raised to the “power of E,” with ethics embedded into how students learn, build and apply technology.
Resources in this Episode:
Get Pete's book High-Tech Heroes: Why Gen Z is our Last and Best Chance to Save the Planet
Tons of other books, podcasts and shows mentioned in this episode can be found on the show notes page: https://techedpodcast.com/dulcamara/

We want to hear from you! Send us a text.
Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn

Work-based learning is only as strong as the ecosystem around it, and this panel shows what happens when educators, employers, and students each do their part.
Recorded at ACTE’s National Work-Based Learning Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, this keynote panel features the perspective of an educator, industrial employer, and a student and shares their best insights and practical advice for making WBL impactful.
From the education side, Kathryn Dacier explains what it looks like when work-based learning is embedded in the design of a school, not relegated to the margins. From the employer's perspective, Kathy Sutton argues that the quality of work-based learning depends on whether employers are willing to create placements grounded in communication, mentorship, and meaningful work. And from the student side, Kadence Agin shows how experiences like SkillsUSA, DECA, and work-based learning help young people build confidence, expand their networks, and discover career paths they want to pursue before graduation.
Taken together, the panel makes a practical case for stronger collaboration between schools and employers and a more intentional approach to preparing students for the workforce. It also shows that when those three stakeholders are aligned, work-based learning starts functioning as a true pipeline for talent, readiness, and opportunity.
Meet our Panelists:
Kathryn Dacier, Career Coordinator, William M. Davies Jr. Career and Technical High School
Kathy Sutton, Senior Workforce Development Specialist, General Dynamics Electric Boat
Kadence Agin, Senior, Coventry High School; SkillsUSA Rhode Island State President
Resources in this Episode:
Learn more about the Association for Career and Technical Education
Save the date! ACTE Work-Based Learning Conference 2027 is coming to Oklahoma City April 28-30, 2027.
Other resources mentioned:
Davies Career and Technical High School
General Dynamics Electric Boat - student programs
SkillsUSA
DECA
More resources on the episode page! https://techedpodcast.com/acte/
We want to hear from you! Send us a text.
Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn

As AI and emerging technologies reshape work, HR is being pushed into a bigger role: making sure the company’s workforce strategy keeps pace with its business strategy.
▶️ Watch this episode on YouTube!
In this episode, Matt Kirchner sits down with Dr. Peter Fasolo, former CHRO of Johnson & Johnson and now Director of the Institute for Leadership & Work at Boston University, to talk about the future workforce from one of the most senior vantage points in HR. Fasolo does not describe HR as a siloed function focused on policies and process. He describes it as a system tied to competitive pressures, customers, leadership, organizational design, and the business outcomes that matter most to the executive suite and the board.
Fasolo argues that as AI takes on more routine work, the value of HR has to become more strategic, not less: understanding the internal labor market, knowing where to build talent versus buy it, helping the company close capability gaps, and making sure the workforce is aligned with where the business is headed. With Matt pushing the conversation into practical territory, the episode becomes a broader discussion about leadership, culture, upskilling, and what companies will need from HR chiefs as the future workforce takes shape.
Listen to learn
How HR leaders can tell whether the company actually has the skills and leadership depth its strategy requires
Are mass layoffs truly due to AI, or is there more going on in these businesses?
How to decide when to build talent, buy talent, borrow talent, or use AI
Where companies should redirect their talent if they're able to automate tasks with AI
Why the next phase of HR leadership is less about administering programs and more about helping the executive team build an organization that can compete
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. HR has to move closer to the center of business strategy. Fasolo makes the case that HR can no longer be defined mainly by process, policy, or employee programs. As work changes, the real job is helping leadership understand whether the company has the talent, structure, and alignment to deliver on its strategy.
2. The future workforce starts with maximizing the capabilities you already have. Before companies rush to hire, restructure, or blame AI for workforce disruption, Fasolo argues they need a much clearer view of their internal labor market, skill gaps, and job architecture. Workforce strategy starts with knowing what exists inside the business and maximizing your human capital.
3. Technology only creates value if leaders use the freed-up capacity well. AI and workforce disruption is all over the headlines, but here's a grounded way to approach it. If routine work takes less time, then organizational leaders need to redirect their people toward customers, coaching, judgment, problem solving, and the kinds of leadership work that technology cannot replace.
Resources: https://techedpodcast.com/fasolo/
We want to hear from you! Send us a text.
Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn

Physical AI is the next major step for artificial intelligence, and FANUC’s collaboration with NVIDIA shows how that will look on the factory floor.
Mike Cicco, President and CEO of FANUC America, highlights the partnership’s two major applications: digital and physical. On the digital side, FANUC robots can be brought into NVIDIA Omniverse and Isaac Sim, alongside FANUC’s ROBOGUIDE software, for simulation, virtual commissioning, digital-twin development, cycle-time evaluation, synthetic data generation, and risk reduction before installation.
On the physical side, NVIDIA’s computing capabilities, ROS 2, open-source development, and AI-enabled perception are helping robots interpret sensor data, adjust motion in real time, avoid people, track moving parts, coordinate dual-arm tasks, and perform work that once required rigid programming or precise fixturing.
For manufacturers, Physical AI will expand automation's capabilties, especially in high-mix environments. For educators and workforce leaders, as AI and open-source tools accelerate robot programming, students still need strong fundamentals in motion, safety, controls, and robot behavior.
Listen to learn
The physical and digital aspects of the new FANUC-NVIDIA partnership
 How Isaac Sim and Omniverse could change virtual commissioning for manufacturers
 What ROS 2 makes possible for open-source robotics development
 Where small and midsize manufacturers should start before jumping into advanced AI robotics
 What these developments mean for educators teaching automation and robotics courses
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
Manufacturers can now do full virtual commissioning before investing in a new automation cell. NVIDIA’s Isaac Sim and Omniverse create a way to bring multiple assets together into one photorealistic virtual factory, where manufacturers can simulate robot behavior, factory layouts, workflow changes, synthetic parts, and commissioning scenarios before building the physical system.
Physical AI is making robot programming more flexible and responsive to real-time environmental changes. Through NVIDIA’s computing capabilities, ROS 2, open-source development on GitHub, and AI-enabled perception, robots can begin responding to changing factory conditions in real time. That includes tracking moving parts in 3D, adjusting motion around people, coordinating dual-arm tasks, handling flexible materials, and using generative AI to create programs from voice commands.
Industry will still need people who understand the fundamentals of robot motion and programming. AI and open-source code can accelerate robot programming, but they can’t replace the need to understand motion, safety, controls, acceleration, position, and how robots behave in production. Manufacturers and educators still need strong technical foundations so people can judge, refine, troubleshoot, and safely deploy these systems.
Resources:
Advancing Physical AI and Digital Twins Through Collaboration with NVIDIA
Learn more about FANUC America & FANUC's Education Programs
More links & resources: https://techedpodcast.com/cicco5/
We want to hear from you! Send us a text.
Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn