In the face of economic uncertaiy, tight labor market and the ever-increasing expansion of artificial ielligence, many new university graduates are facing a challenge to eer the labor market. Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, believes that studes concerned about their future careers in a world transformed by artificial ielligence should focus on developing skills that will last through any transformation.
Brian Chesky said in an ierview with ABC News, “People should study things that ierest them and develop skills that they will always need.”
He poied specifically to the human and cognitive skills that technology cannot replace: “You always have to learn how to solve problems. “You always have to learn to improve your leadership skills… You always have to learn to think critically and be able to communicate.”
Airbnb CEO advice on sustainable skills
Chesky emphasized that while AI is set to revolutionize the way we work, “some things will never change.” “People still wa to connect, people still wa (social) relationships,” he says. “Leadership will coinue to matter.” He defined a good leader or manager as follows: “A good manager communicates well. It has specific goals. And it’s very, very organized.”
Airbnb’s CEO also warned companies not to replace ery-level jobs with artificial ielligence. An analysis by business ielligence firm Revelio Labs shows that ery-level job postings fell by about 35 perce from January 2023 to June 2025.
Chesky said about this: “If no new young people can find a job, you will not have anyone to take strategic and leadership positions in the future.” “So we need to make room for people who are early in their careers, even if AI can do the work of appreices,” he added.
He noted that AI models “can do a lot of lower-level tasks and ery-level jobs,” but at the same time “have trouble with a lot of new ideas” and “need to be told step-by-step what to do.”
Ultimately, Chesky believes that trying to predict which industries will be safe from AI in the coming years is a futile prediction. He advised that the way to get through any changes caused by AI is to “just keep moving forward.”
