Tech leaders have spent the past few years warning workers that artificial intelligence will threaten jobs across nearly every field, from computer programming and customer service to law and finance. But according to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, the biggest risk to professionals is not the technology itself—it is refusing to evolve alongside it. In his view, there are two kinds of employees who “will not survive the age of AI.”

“The two types of people who will not make the shift to AI are pure people managers and people that are rigid and don’t want to change and evolve,” Chesky said on the Invest Like The Best podcast earlier this year.

Chesky’s comments add to a steady stream of caution from Silicon Valley executives—a conversation now stretching across AI research, cloud software, travel, semiconductors, and entertainment. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei previously warned that AI could disrupt half of entry-level white-collar work, although his tone changed this year. Microsoft’s AI chief, Mustafa Suleyman, has offered an even more aggressive timeline, estimating that most professional work could be replaced within 12 to 18 months.

The Airbnb CEO, however, presented a more optimistic view of the future, with one caveat: adapting is key to success.

As AI transforms company structures and the way staffers do their jobs, Chesky explained, bosses need to adapt to the new era as well. He singled out people managers in particular—going forward, every higher-up will have to become a “hybrid people manager” or a “manager IC” (individual contributor) to succeed. That means adopting a more technical approach and maintaining a connection to the end product, rather than focusing solely on team leadership—a blurring of the line between leading a team and doing the work itself. To hold onto their jobs, managers will need to stay involved in the “context” of the work.

“I don’t think people managers will have any value in the future. When I mean people managers, [I mean] people that only manage people,” Chesky continued. “You can’t just be these managers where you’re people’s therapists, and you’re just doing meetings, you’re doing one-on-ones.”

The Airbnb CEO cited former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive as a prime example, noting that the British executive struck the right balance between product design and team leadership. Building relationships with staff is still worthwhile, Chesky said—routine check-ins and dinners with direct reports remain good practice. But simply supervising people will no longer be enough; success now depends on managing employees through the work itself.

Rank-and-file workers who believe they can sidestep the new technology will not have an easier time in the AI era, Chesky predicted. The good news, he said, is that mastering the tools and keeping up with the times is incredibly easy, so long as professionals maintain a “growth mindset.” The sentiment echoes a message many tech leaders have delivered to anxious workers: chatbots and AI agents will not take their jobs—but someone who leverages the software will. In that framing, the dividing line runs not between humans and machines, but between workers who adopt the tools and those who hold off.

The CEOs Who Say Tech-Savvy Workers Will Thrive in the AI Era

This is not the first time Chesky and other tech leaders have emphasized the importance of adapting to an AI-driven world.

The Airbnb CEO has said AI has been instrumental to the success of his $103 billion short-term rental company, and the billionaire founder has told other business leaders that the technology is not merely a plus—it is a necessity for success.

“From a business standpoint, I think AI is the best thing that ever happened to Airbnb,” Chesky told CNBC in an interview earlier this year.

“The founder-led companies and the companies that are prepared to change and transform are the companies that are going to benefit from AI, because AI means everyone changes,” he continued. “And if you don’t change, you’re going to be disrupted.”

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has also popularized the idea that AI will not be what swipes roles from humans—instead, it will be tech-savvy talent that takes over jobs. Echoing Chesky, the leader of the $5.23 trillion GPU giant said that as AI spreads into every corner of every industry, no worker will be exempt from keeping up with the tools. It could even mean the difference between holding down a stable job and getting the boot.

“Every job will be affected, and immediately. It is unquestionable,” Huang said at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference in 2025. “You’re not going to lose your job to an AI, but you’re going to lose your job to someone who uses AI.”

“I would recommend 100% of everybody take advantage of AI,” Huang advised. “Don’t be that person who ignores this technology and as a result, loses your job.”

Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of streaming giant Netflix, has also acknowledged that the technology will impact entertainment jobs. But like Huang, he does not believe the tools will be taking over the call sheet. In the intensely competitive industry, creatives who lean into AI will simply be better off than those who don’t.

“I don’t believe that an A.I. program is going to write a better screenplay than a great writer, or is going to replace a great performance,” Sarandos told The New York Times in 2024. “A.I. is not going to take your job. The person who uses A.I. well might take your job.”

A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on May 7, 2026. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.