Not all jobs are at risk: Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu lists careers that cannot be replaced by AI

While the world worries about artificial intelligence replacing human workers, Sridhar Vembu, co-founder and CEO of Zoho, believes some professions will stand the test of time.

In a thoughtful post on X (formerly Twitter), Vembu reflected on how AI challenges our sense of self-worth, and why certain vocations rooted in care, community and creativity will remain untouched. “If our notion of self-worth comes from the economic value we add, or if it comes from our intellectual pretence (cough), AI may pose a serious challenge to our self-worth,” he wrote.

But, he added, there are many who work not for pay or prestige but out of passion and purpose, and they, he said, will be “unaffected by AI.”

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Vembu’s post points to a simple but profound truth, some work is irreplaceable because it’s inherently human. He listed examples such as teachers, caregivers, farmers, forest rangers, temple priests, and classical musicians, people who do what they do not for profit, but for fulfilment, duty, or devotion.

“No one takes up activities like taking care of children, teaching, taking care of the elderly, coming back to farming leaving a well-paying job, going into the forest as rangers because they love the forest, or local temple priests who do the daily rituals even when no one shows up at the temple,” he wrote.

Likewise, he mentioned artists who perform for small audiences and those who preserve traditions without expecting big returns. “None of them do it because those activities pay well,” Vembu added.

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He believes that such professions, guided by meaning rather than money, will remain resilient even as AI transforms industries. “They will be unaffected by AI,” he concluded. “Humanity may organise itself more towards such activity.”

AI vs human jobs

Vembu’s reflections come at a time when the technology sector is undergoing yet another wave of AI-driven restructuring and layoffs. Major firms like Block and eBay recently announced significant job cuts, citing the need to streamline operations and adapt to the rapid rise of automation.

Block, led by Jack Dorsey, confirmed it would reduce its workforce by around 40 per cent to “increase efficiency and focus,” while eBay laid off nearly 1,000 employees, about 9 per cent of its staff, as part of a push to integrate AI across its marketplace operations. The moves have reignited fears that the more machines learn, the fewer humans will be needed.

Yet, as Vembu suggests, not all forms of work can be replicated by algorithms. AI can simulate reasoning and pattern recognition, but it can’t match the empathy of a caregiver, the intuition of a teacher, or the devotion of a temple priest.

As automation continues to reshape economies, Vembu’s message offers a counterpoint to the prevailing anxiety that true value may soon be found less in efficiency, and more in humanity itself.