If you’re feeling uneasy about AI right now, you’re not alone. I hear it in workshops, coaching sessions, and quiet side conversations with smart, capable people who have navigated plenty of change before. The discomfort is real, and it’s easy to assume it has something to do with age or technical skill. That assumption misses the point.
What’s happening has far less to do with when you were born and far more to do with how you define your value.
There’s a persistent myth that younger professionals are naturally more comfortable with AI while older workers struggle to keep up. In practice, the pattern is often reversed. Research and field observations shared by analysts like Charlene Li suggest that many early-career professionals see AI as a direct threat to their job prospects, while more experienced professionals are more likely to see it as leverage. Not because they are more technical, but because they are more grounded in what they bring beyond tools.
This is where resistance really lives.
AI challenges identity. It forces uncomfortable questions: If a system can draft, analyze, summarize, or generate ideas faster than I can, what am I still responsible for? What am I valued for? What happens to the expertise I spent years building or haven’t yet had the opportunity to build?
When those questions surface, avoidance can feel safer than curiosity. People hesitate to experiment because they don’t want to look slow, ask basic questions, or confirm a quiet fear that they might be falling behind. That hesitation often shows up as skepticism or dismissal, but underneath it is risk management. Protecting credibility. Protecting confidence. Protecting a sense of self.
I noticed this in myself early on. Even with a technical background, I resisted AI longer than I expected. It wasn’t until a friend casually showed me how he was using it in his day-to-day work that something clicked. Once I engaged, I moved quickly. But I still notice that if I overthink it, the old questions resurface. When that happens, I remind myself to slow down, stay present, and lean into the change rather than trying to outrun it.
Here’s the part that often gets lost in the noise. AI does not replace judgment, context, or lived experience. It amplifies them. It exposes where those qualities matter most. The professionals adapting most effectively are not the ones chasing every new tool. They are the ones rethinking how they contribute value in a world where execution is cheaper, but discernment is not.
If you’re feeling resistance this week, don’t rush to override it. Notice it. Pay attention to the story you’re telling yourself about what AI represents and what it threatens. That awareness is not a weakness. It is the starting point for making intentional choices about how you show up as work continues to change.
You do not need to outrun AI. You need to get clearer about where your judgment still makes the difference.
That clarity is where the real work begins.