Future Human
You're Not Your Job Title (And Soon You Won't Have One)
"So, what do you do?"
The question lands like a dull thud at every networking event, first date, and family reunion. The conversational equivalent of fast food.
And now, thanks to AI, a question that's rapidly losing its meaning.
By the end of this post, you’ll have five powerful questions that reveal more about your true value than any job title ever could—questions that position you perfectly in the New Meaning Economy.
The Identity Trap
Last week at a dinner party, someone asked me what I do. I smiled and said, "That’s the wrong question." Their reaction told me everything I needed to know about how unprepared most people are for what’s coming.
"What do you do?" was never about curiosity. It was always about sorting—deciding, in seconds, whether someone is worth your time, respect, or attention.
Doctor? Impressed nod.
Unemployed? Awkward pause.
We’ve mistaken a résumé for a soul.
The Strange Paradox: Being Replaced Is Your Liberation
The career identity is dissolving—and that’s a good thing. AI isn’t just automating work; it's forcing us to redefine worth.
The death of "what do you do?" isn’t a glitch. It’s an upgrade.
Here’s why:
1. The Rise of Multi-Dimensional Careers
The one-job-for-life model is extinct. Today’s professionals are consultants by day, creators by night, and investors on weekends. The neat job titles that worked for previous generations are now comically inadequate.
2. The Automation Revolution
AI is rewriting the rules of work at breakneck speed. When ChatGPT drafts contracts faster than lawyers and Midjourney generates art in seconds, what you do stops being a fixed identity.
This isn’t just changing what we do—it’s transforming how we create. When ideas can manifest at the speed of our WiFi connection, the bottleneck is no longer execution; it’s vision.
3. The Meaning Crisis
We’re realizing that climbing the career ladder doesn’t guarantee fulfillment. The generation that sacrificed everything for professional success is now questioning whether it was worth it, while younger generations are refusing to play the game at all.
4. The Evolution of Status
Social capital—who you know, what you create, how you think, and what you stand for—is now more valuable than traditional markers of success.
"Fulfillment comes when we live our lives on purpose."
Simon Sinek
For the first time in history, "what do you do?" is becoming a meaningful question—not to categorize you, but to explore how your unique consciousness expresses itself in the world.
The question that once reduced us is now revealing us.
When Your Job Ends, You Begin
If a robot can do your job tomorrow, who are you the day after?
In living rooms, coffee shops, and Zoom calls across the world, a new conversation is taking shape.
Instead of asking "What do you do?" we’re starting to ask:
"What lights you up?"
"What are you curious about right now?"
"What problem are you trying to solve?"
"How do you spend your time when you feel most alive?"
These questions cut past the surface and invite authentic connection. They acknowledge that we are more than our economic output.
The most interesting people I know can’t answer "what do you do?" in a single sentence anyway. They’re the New Creators—exploring, evolving, and shaping reality at the edges of multiple domains.
What AI Gives By Taking
For too long, we’ve been taught to conflate what we do with who we are. We’ve internalized the logic of capitalism so completely that we evaluate our worth based on productivity and marketability.
Like walking LinkedIn profiles with heartbeats.
But here’s the paradox of our moment:
As AI strips away the superficial connection between identity and occupation, we’re being invited into a deeper truth.
In a world where machines handle the output, what remains is the essence of our contribution—our vision, discernment, and presence.
The real what we do is emerging:
We shape consciousness.
We design experiences.
We create meaning.
The old paradigm was: I am what I do.
The new paradigm is: I do what I am.
The costs of the old paradigm are showing up everywhere:
Record levels of burnout
Epidemics of anxiety and depression
A crisis of meaning and purpose
A collapse of community and connection
When we stop defining ourselves by occupation, we create space for a more expansive sense of identity—one that includes our values, passions, relationships, and contributions beyond the marketplace.
The New Creator's Advantage in the Age of AI
For creators, this shift isn’t just significant. It’s your damn superpower.
In the old paradigm, explaining what you do was exhausting.
The blank stares.
The follow-up questions that made you question your life choices.
The subtle judgment that if you don’t fit into a recognized professional category, you must be some kind of societal freeloader.
But in the new paradigm—where AI can materialize your ideas in minutes—creators have the advantage.
While others are panicking about robots taking their jobs, you’re just nodding knowingly.
Because you’ve been here all along. Comfortable with chaos. Dancing with uncertainty. Creating value that transcends traditional economic categories.
The new currency? Vision, discernment, and consciousness.
AI can execute. Only you can imagine.
Identity Reinvention: 4 Ways to Navigate the Shift
Your job title is becoming irrelevant faster than you think. Here’s how to thrive in the transition:
1. Reframe the question when it’s asked of you
Instead of giving a job title, share what you’re creating, exploring, or contributing. "Currently, I’m helping companies tell more authentic stories" says more than "I’m a content strategist."
2. Ask better questions of others
Lead by example. Instead of asking about occupation, inquire about passion, curiosity, or purpose. "What’s got you excited lately?" opens doors that "What do you do?" keeps firmly shut.
3. Practice identity expansion
You are not your job title. But in a deeper sense, you are what you do—when “doing” is defined as how you shape consciousness, create meaning, and contribute to evolution.
4. Create from wholeness
The best work comes from wholeness.
Create like all of you matters—because it does.
The Liberation: What Happens After Jobs
When future generations look back at this period of human history, they won’t judge us for asking "What do you do?"
They’ll marvel at how we asked the right question for the wrong reasons—reducing it to economic function when it was always meant to reveal our unique contribution to life.
What if being replaced by AI is actually your opportunity to become who you were meant to be?
AI is making "What do you do?" obsolete.
And that’s the best thing that could happen to your purpose.
Because the real question was never what you do.
It was always: “Who are you becoming?”
Your answer creates worlds.
Your existence creates meaning.
Your consciousness creates reality.
Time to live the question.
5 Questions That Reveal Your True Value in the New Meaning Economy
The most valuable thing about you has never been your job title. AI is about to prove it. These five questions will reveal more about your true value than your job title ever could:
What do you notice that others miss?
What feels deeply meaningful to you that can’t be easily explained?
How do you naturally transform environments or situations?
What creates a state of flow for you?
What would you create if all jobs paid equally?
By the end of the AI revolution, the death of "what do you do?" will be the best thing that ever happened to your sense of purpose.
The question was never what you do.
The answer was always who you are becoming.
So… what lights you up?
Who is Leo Marrs?
