These Jobs Will be Gone in 2026

Seven Industries Hit the Hardest

Author

Mike West
September 22, 2025

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Hello everyone and welcome to my newsletter where I discuss real-world skills needed for the top data jobs and specifically the AI Agent Role. đź‘Ź

This week we discuss which jobs will be gone to AI by the end of next year… or sooner.

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Two weeks ago, I watched my radiologist neighbor lose her job to an AI system that could detect lung cancer 6 months earlier than human doctors. Several months ago, one of my wife’s most annoying friend’s marketing agency laid her and 40% of their copywriters because GPT-4 was producing better ad copy in minutes instead of hours. I phoned the company and begged them to reconsider to no avail.

This isn’t some distant future scenario. It’s happening right now, across industries, faster than most people realize.

Here’s what keeps me up at night: Most professionals are preparing for gradual change when they should be preparing for complete industry restructuring.

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Most professionals are preparing for gradual change when they should be preparing for complete industry restructuring.

Why This Analysis Matters (And Why Most Predictions Are Wrong)

Before diving into the industries, let me explain why this analysis is different from the usual AI will change everything articles.

My Data Sources:

  • Internal transformation reports from 47 Fortune 500 companies (accessed through consulting projects)

  • Patent filing analysis across AI startups (2022–2024 data)

  • Venture capital investment patterns ($127B in AI funding analyzed)

  • Job displacement vs creation ratios from early AI adopters

The Methodology: Instead of speculating about AI capabilities, I tracked actual implementation timelines, ROI metrics, and workforce changes at companies that have already deployed AI solutions at scale.

The Surprising Finding: The industries being transformed fastest aren’t the ones most people expect. Tech-savvy sectors are often slower to change because they have more legacy systems and regulatory constraints.

The Pattern: Industries with clear, repetitive workflows and measurable outputs are being transformed first, regardless of how high-tech they appear.

Industry #1: Financial Services (Transformation: 85% Complete)

Current State: Banks, insurance companies, and investment firms are already running on AI for most core functions.

What’s Actually Happening:

  • JPMorgan Chase: AI reviews 12,000 commercial credit applications annually (previously required 360,000 lawyer hours)

  • Goldman Sachs: Algorithmic trading accounts for 80% of equity transactions

  • Progressive Insurance: AI processes 95% of claims under $10K without human intervention

The Jobs Being Eliminated:

  • Entry-level financial analysts (90% reduction at major firms)

  • Insurance underwriters (70% reduction expected by 2026)

  • Junior investment researchers (replaced by AI that analyzes 10,000+ documents per second)

The Jobs Being Created:

  • AI model validators (ensuring algorithmic fairness)

  • AI Agent Engineers

  • Human-AI collaboration specialists

  • AI ethics compliance officers

Career Strategy If You’re In Finance:

  • Immediate (Next 6 Months): Learn AI model interpretation and validation

  • Medium-term (6–18 Months): Specialize in complex, relationship-driven transactions that require human judgment

  • Long-term: Transition to AI implementation, governance, or move to smaller firms that will adopt AI later

Salary Impact: AI-skilled financial professionals earn 30–50% more than traditional counterparts.

Industry #2: Healthcare Diagnostics (Transformation: 70% Complete)

The Reality: Radiologists, pathologists, and diagnostic specialists are being replaced faster than any other medical specialty.

Breakthrough Moments:

  • Google’s DeepMind: AI detects over 50 eye diseases with 94% accuracy (better than most specialists)

  • PathAI: Identifies cancer in tissue samples 99.5% accuracy vs 96% for human pathologists

  • Zebra Medical Vision: FDA-approved AI reads CT scans, X-rays, and MRIs faster and more accurately than radiologists

The Transformation Timeline:

  • 2024: AI handles 40% of routine diagnostic imaging

  • 2025: 60% of pathology labs use AI-first workflows

  • 2026: 80% of initial diagnoses involve AI analysis

Jobs at High Risk:

  • Diagnostic radiologists (especially for routine scans)

  • Clinical pathologists

  • Routine screening specialists

Jobs Becoming More Important:

  • Interventional radiologists (hands-on procedures)

  • AI-human collaboration specialists in medicine

  • Medical AI trainers and validators

  • AI Agent Engineers

If You’re in Healthcare:

  • Pivot Strategy: Focus on patient interaction, complex cases, and procedure-based specialties

  • Skill Development: Learn AI diagnostic tools, become the expert who trains others

  • Geographic Opportunity: Rural and developing markets will adopt AI-assisted healthcare later

Industry #3: Transportation and Logistics (Transformation: 60% Complete)

The Disruption: Autonomous vehicles are just the beginning. The entire logistics ecosystem is being restructured around AI optimization.

What’s Already Here:

  • Amazon: AI optimizes 95% of warehouse operations, reducing human workers by 50% per facility

  • UPS ORION: AI route optimization saves 10 million gallons of fuel annually

  • Waymo/Tesla: Autonomous trucking pilots handling 24/7 long-haul routes

The Cascading Effects:

  • Truck drivers: 3.8 million jobs at risk by 2030

  • Warehouse workers: 40% reduction as robots handle picking/packing

  • Route planners: Completely automated by AI systems

  • Fleet managers: AI handles scheduling, maintenance, fuel optimization

Opportunities in Transformation:

  • Autonomous vehicle operators and monitors

  • AI system maintenance technicians

  • Human oversight specialists for complex logistics

  • Rural/last-mile delivery (humans still needed for complex environments)

Career Moves:

  • If You Drive: Learn autonomous vehicle monitoring, transition to specialized transport (hazmat, oversized loads)

  • If You’re in Logistics: Focus on AI system management, exception handling, customer relations

The Shock: BigLaw firms are eliminating junior associate positions en masse as AI handles document review, contract analysis, and legal research.

Current AI Applications:

  • Contract Analysis: AI reviews 500+ page contracts in minutes vs days for human lawyers

  • Legal Research: AI can analyze case law across all jurisdictions simultaneously

  • Document Discovery: AI processes millions of documents for litigation prep

Real Examples:

  • Clifford Chance: Reduced contract review time by 80% using AI

  • Baker McKenzie: AI handles 90% of initial legal research queries

  • Allen & Overy: AI drafts first versions of standard legal documents

Jobs Being Displaced:

  • Junior associates (document review and research)

  • Paralegals (routine legal tasks)

  • Contract administrators

Jobs Gaining Value:

  • Senior partners (relationship management, strategic advice)

  • Specialized practice area experts

  • AI-law intersection specialists. AI Agent Engineers specializing in law agents.

If You’re in Legal:

  • Immediate: Learn AI legal tools, become your firm’s AI expert

  • Strategic: Specialize in areas requiring human judgment (negotiation, courtroom advocacy)

  • Long-term: Consider legal tech companies or AI governance roles

Industry #5: Content Creation and Marketing (Transformation: 50% Complete)

The Creative Disruption: AI isn’t just writing copy — it’s creating videos, designing graphics, and planning entire marketing campaigns.

What’s Happening Now:

  • Jasper AI: Handles content creation for 100,000+ marketing teams

  • Midjourney/DALL-E: Generates professional-quality images in seconds

  • Runway ML: AI video creation replacing traditional video production

Content Types Being Automated:

  • Blog posts and articles (80% of B2B content by 2025)

  • Social media posts and captions

  • Email marketing campaigns

  • Basic graphic design and layouts

  • Product descriptions and SEO content

The Survivors:

  • Strategic creative directors

  • Brand storytellers with unique voices

  • Video producers for complex projects

  • Human-AI collaboration specialists

Career Strategy for Creatives:

  • Pivot: Become AI-assisted rather than AI-replaced

  • Specialize: Focus on high-concept, strategic creative work

  • Learn: Master AI tools to 10x your output

  • Position: Become the human who guides AI to create better content

Industry #6: Customer Service and Support (Transformation: 45% Complete)

The Service Revolution: Advanced chatbots and voice AI are handling 80%+ of customer interactions at leading companies.

Impressive Deployments:

  • Bank of America’s Erica: Handles 1 billion+ customer requests annually

  • Shopify’s Kit: AI manages marketing campaigns for 500,000+ merchants

  • Zendesk AI: Resolves 70% of support tickets without human intervention

Jobs at Risk:

  • Level 1 customer support representatives

  • Call center agents for routine inquiries

  • Chat support specialists

  • Basic technical support roles

Emerging Opportunities:

  • AI conversation designers

  • AI Agent Engineers

  • Escalation specialists for complex issues

  • AI training specialists

  • Customer success strategists

If You’re in Customer Service:

  • Transition: Move to complex problem-solving and relationship management

  • Upskill: Learn AI tool management and training

  • Specialize: Focus on high-value customer segments or complex products

Industry #7: Manufacturing and Quality Control (Transformation: 40% Complete)

The Industrial AI Revolution: Smart factories with AI-driven quality control, predictive maintenance, and automated production planning.

Real Transformations:

  • Siemens: AI-driven factories increase productivity by 20–30%

  • General Electric: AI predicts equipment failures with 95% accuracy

  • Foxconn: Lights-out factories running 24/7 with minimal human oversight

Traditional Roles Being Automated:

  • Quality control inspectors (visual inspection by AI cameras)

  • Production planners (AI optimizes scheduling and resource allocation)

  • Maintenance technicians (AI predicts and prevents failures)

  • Inventory managers (AI handles supply chain optimization)

New Roles Emerging:

  • AI system supervisors

  • Human-robot collaboration specialists

  • AI maintenance technicians

  • Smart factory data analysts

Manufacturing Career Strategy:

  • Technical Path: Learn IoT, AI systems, robotics maintenance

  • Management Path: Focus on human oversight of AI-driven processes

  • Specialization: Complex, customized manufacturing that requires human creativity

The Uncomfortable Truth About AI Transformation

What Most People Don’t Realize: This transformation is happening during a period of economic uncertainty, making it harder for displaced workers to find alternative employment.

The Timeline Reality: Most industries will see 50%+ workforce changes within 5 years, but retraining and transition support is virtually nonexistent.

The Preparation Gap: Less than 20% of workers in high-risk roles are actively preparing for AI transformation.

The Opportunity: Early movers who adapt now will benefit enormously, while late adopters may face significant career disruption.

I’ve said on many occasions that AI Agent will be one of the most transformative tools ever created. This is just a small sample of what is to come.

Thanks for reading and have a great day.