Clara Shih, former artificial intelligence (AI) executive at Salesforce and Meta, has said that work has never been just about earning a paycheck. It also provides people with a sense of purpose, identity, and connection, particularly in the United States. She said society, must rethink how people can find purpose and build connections if AI takes over more jobs.
Speaking to CBS News, Shih said discussions about AI-driven job losses often overlook the importance of identity and dignity, even before considering income, career advancement, and opportunities.
“If AI is going to take over more jobs, we need to rebuild how people get that purpose and connection,” says AI insider Clara Shih. Shih is concerned about the impact of AI on jobs and founded a nonprofit, New Work Foundation, to help young people navigate this new economy. https://t.co/YYsBjyyXo7
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 8, 2026
“It’s identity. It’s dignity. Nobody wants to play guitar all day at home or garden,” she said, adding that the issue had not received enough attention in discussions about AI and employment.
Shih said that when she speaks to friends who have been laid off or have graduated from college but have spent a year or more looking for jobs, financial concerns are often not the first thing they mention.
“When I sit down with friends of mine who have been laid off, and or who just graduated from school and have been searching for a year or more, usually money is the second thing that they bring up,” she said.
According to Shih, the bigger concern is the feeling of no longer being useful to one’s family or community, which can have serious psychological consequences.
“The first thing that they talk about is how they no longer feel useful to their families, to their communities. And that’s very psychologically damaging,” she said.
AI job losses could spread faster than manufacturing decline
Shih said the disruption caused by AI could be more widespread and happen faster than the impact of globalisation on manufacturing two to three decades ago.
She said that although the manufacturing downturn had devastated communities in the Rust Belt, its impact was geographically concentrated compared with the potential disruption from AI.
“The manufacturing shock, as devastating as it was for the Rust Belt, it was limited to the Rust Belt. What AI is doing to knowledge work affects pretty much every community in America, and it’s happening at a much faster, on a much faster timeline,” she said.
Shih acknowledged that AI had already transformed areas such as medicine and drug discovery and was helping millions of small businesses across the country grow. She said the technology could serve important purposes and benefit society, but it could also leave many people behind.
She called on non-profit organisations, government leaders, and business leaders to help guide AI development and adoption towards outcomes that benefit society and reduce the risk of people being left behind.
Expressing confidence that society could steer the technology in the right direction, Shih said, “Yes, it’s… we can do anything. When we put our minds to it, especially this country, we can do anything.”
What AI can learn from the manufacturing crisis
Reflecting on the impact of globalisation and the decline of manufacturing, Shih said the experience offered important lessons for managing the economic changes AI could bring.
She acknowledged that global trade had benefited the average American consumer and contributed to substantial economic growth over the past several decades. However, she said the benefits had not been shared equally, leaving communities such as Akron and Cleveland behind.
Shih said the experience had prompted her to consider whether policymakers and business leaders could have done more to support affected communities and what lessons could be applied as AI reshapes the labour market.
