White-collar jobs, meet your match

I hear from some of you who say, “Kim, I don’t care about AI, it’s not my thing.” I get it. But AI does matter. You’re using it even when you think you’re not. Ever yell, “Speak to a real person”? 

AI is not just here, it’s taking names and unpaid lunch breaks. As much as I love a good time-saving tool, I’ve been watching something play out that you should know about. 

Now, do me a favor.

I want you to read all the way to the end. This way, the next time the whole “AI taking jobs” issue comes up in conversation, you’ll know what to say and sound so incredibly connected and smart. I love that for you.

🤖 One chatbot = 700 people

The CEO of Klarna, a major fintech company, just came out with a warning: AI is already replacing white-collar workers, and if we don’t brace for it, it could trigger a recession. Yep, that’s a really big deal.

Here’s the backstory. Klarna used to have 5,500 employees. Now? Even though the company is experiencing unprecedented growth, they’re down to about 3,000 people because of AI. 

The big hit was in customer service. One chatbot, powered by OpenAI, is doing the work of 700 people. 

It’s not just Klarna. Companies across the globe are doing the same thing.

Klarna’s CEO was excited about the efficiency. Now he’s sounding the alarm about what this means for the economy. He’s not alone. 

The folks behind Anthropic’s Claude (another AI tool like ChatGPT) say we could lose up to half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within five years. I say three years.

😱 Let’s not hit the panic button 

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The bots are coming for your 401(k)

One question I get all the time is, “Kim, can AI help me pick stocks?” 

Spoiler: Not only can it help, it might do a better job than a guy in a Patagonia vest yelling about yield curves.

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AI-proof, for now: Turns out some white-collar gigs are harder to kill than expected. Looks like we’re gonna need tens of thousands more accountants, CEOs and financial advisers by 2030, even as AI keeps eating jobs like it’s at a buffet. AI also can’t replace CEOs because it hasn’t learned golf yet.

🤖 Ask for up-to-date answers: ChatGPT can sometimes give outdated info, especially on recent events. Try saying, “Can you search the web and verify with 2025 sources?” If it does, you’ll usually get clickable links. PSA: Double-check the sources, too. If a website looks unfamiliar, give it a quick Google to make sure it’s legit.

👨‍💼 AI coworkers are here: Bank of New York Mellon is now using “digital workers” alongside staff. They have company logins and handle tasks like coding and payment instruction validation on their own, then report to managers for approval. Next up? Giving them email addresses and Teams access to chat with colleagues.

🤖 Google’s AI problems: To “help” the publishers it just kneecapped with AI search, Google dropped a new feature: Offerwall. Your website visitors can now pay per article, watch ads or take surveys to get through content gates. Congrats! You’ve unlocked this joke by watching two ads and solving a CAPTCHA shaped like Sundar Pichai’s head.

🗣️ Organize your thoughts: Driving to work with a busy brain? Use ChatGPT Voice Mode to transcribe your ideas, to-dos and plans while you speak. When you arrive, say something like: “Can you summarize this into bullet points, starting with the most important?” Brilliant, right?

🧠 Smarter meeting notes: Fathom is an AI notetaker for Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. It automatically records, transcribes and summarizes your meetings. You can ask things like “Did we discuss the budget?” and get answers with time stamps. FYI: The free plan gives you five summaries or queries per month.

📊 Turn data into answers: Upload a spreadsheet into ChatGPT and ask questions like “What’s the total for this column?” or “Which row has the highest value?” For faster answers, try the GPT-4o model (paid plan only), to create a new spreadsheet from your data with new formatting.

Wait a minute: Sam Altman, creator of ChatGPT, went on record to say that he now believes artificial intelligence has surpassed human intelligence. He calls it the “event horizon.” But intelligence is judgment and emotional control. When AI can invent a human being, a real one with a heart, a soul and a messy, beautiful brain, then we’ll talk.

Polishing an email or report? Ask ChatGPT to check spelling and grammar. Just type: “Can you proofread this for me?” If you want it more formal, try: “Please rewrite this using Associated Press style.” You can also say, “Show the changes in bold,” so it’s easier to spot what’s different.

Look at me, I’m the coder now: Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says coding is dead, long live “vibe coding,” which is basically sweet-talking a chatbot into writing software for you. You don’t need Python if you’ve got polite vibes and ChatGPT. Congrats, your great aunt just launched an e-commerce site from her iPad.

🤖 Copy that: Don’t copy text from ChatGPT by highlighting it with your mouse. You’ll grab all the weird formatting. Instead, hit the Copy button (two overlapping squares near the bot’s reply) for a clean, ready-to-paste version. Easy peasy.

🧠 AI now mandatory: It’s come to this. Companies are tossing résumés for ChatGPT prompts. Two-thirds of execs say AI proficiency means more than job experience. 71% would pick the less experienced candidate if they’re AI-savvy. LinkedIn endorsements now include “Knows when to ask Claude for help.”

🎙️ Fix bad audio fast: Adobe Podcast uses AI to clean up echo, remove background noise and boost your voice to studio quality. You can also transcribe and export as text or PDF. The best part? It’s all online, so no software downloads are needed. There’s a free tier, or full access for $9.99/month. Unless you’re a full-on podcaster, you don’t need it.

Prompt like a pro: Not happy with your AI bot’s answer? Type “Try again” to get a new version. Use phrases like “Make it shorter,” “Add more detail” or “Include 10 examples” for even more control. Now that so-so reply is exactly what you need.

AI vs. cancer: AI just helped design a new breast cancer treatment … with zero cancer drugs. Using high-cholesterol and anti-booze meds, GPT-4 suggested combos, and some worked better than standard care. Yes, it spit out actual useful science instead of writing a bad screenplay. GPT is slowly turning into Dr. House without the Vicodin.

Mamma Mia!, with chatbots: ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus is writing a new musical with the help of AI. He’s fully embracing the tech, saying it’s like having another songwriter in the room with endless ideas. Dancing Queens, meet Data Kings.

🤖 Make your own music: Udio lets you mess around with song-making using AI. Just describe what you want, like the style and instruments, then move on to the lyrics. You can outline verses and even choose how long the song should be. FYI: The free plan lets you create three full tracks per day.

🧠 ChatGPT update: OpenAI finally rolled out a memory feature for the free version. Now the chatbot can remember things you’ve told it and tailor replies to match. Say you’re dairy-free? Expect vegan recipes. Heads up though: It’s a light version, so only recent convos stick. You can turn it off under Settings > Personalization > Memory.