At Stanford, labor economist Betsey Stevenson argued that what people fear most in the age of AI is not losing income — it is no longer being needed.
Recently, I've been attending a series of learning lectures organized by Stanford's McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society, and they have deepened my understanding of business ethics, economic development, and human happiness in the age of AI. Last night, I heard labor economist Betsey Stevenson — former Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor and economic adviser to President Obama, who has long studied employment, family, and well-being in America. Her talk was titled "What Do We Owe Each Other in the Age of AI?" It confirmed something I hold deeply: human happiness comes from being needed, being seen, and being loved.
She spoke about how technology will eliminate some jobs and create new ones — but the transition will inevitably bring turbulence in income and identity. People fear AI not only because they might lose income, but more deeply because they fear no longer being needed.
What do human beings need? To be needed. That, she noted, is also an important reason behind rising women's labor-force participation and household income: women care more about being needed and are more willing to give for their families and for others. AI and humans, she said, are complements, not substitutes. And people need community. People need each other's love.
She spoke about happiness, and about her understanding of the meaning of life. I was deeply moved. In her view, a person's happiness comes not only from work and income, but from the feeling of being needed. Income growth does not equal happiness growth. People deserve fair opportunities and support to transition. And we must ask whether people have a right to hold on to the income and social standing they once had.
Here in Silicon Valley, more and more executives are coming to me for coaching. I sit with them as they process loss, and I help them face a hard truth: the capabilities the market once paid a premium for may not command the same price in the future. Respecting a person does not mean promising that their sense of belonging will never change.
For highly educated founders, executives, and professionals, the questions are becoming more specific: When AI can do the skills I spent years mastering, what can I still contribute? What is my next step? If I am laid off mid-career, at the peak of my rise, who exactly am I competing with in the job market? An executive who loses a job may need to practice letting go of a title; they may also face age bias, limited local opportunities, and the responsibility of caring for aging parents and young children. In truth, a job carries income, relationships, belonging, and the feeling of being needed.
From entrepreneurship coaching and career growth to the science of happiness, I have come to believe ever more strongly that a coach must help people face two things at once: learning to use AI and finding their place again — and seeing clearly what makes life worth living beyond title and salary.
That is also why I devote myself so fully to continued learning at Stanford HAI, in political economy and business ethics, and in the biblical leadership study led by the senior pastor of Menlo Church. If we learn only to start a business, only to show off in our social circles, only to elevate ourselves in conversation, only to network our way into elite circles — then we have technique without the Way, and technique alone goes only so far.
To be honest, I have walked every one of those paths myself. As a new immigrant, I have known scarcity. But what has kept me going is the peace that came after surrender — after breaking through my inner fear — and finding the meaning of life. And you, my dear? With the time AI saves you, where will you spend it so that you feel truly alive in the present moment?