Summary of "How You're Using AI at Work" – The Indicator from Planet Money

Release Date: August 1, 2025

In the August 1, 2025 episode of The Indicator from Planet Money, hosted by Adrian Ma and Darren Woods, the discussion centers around the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace. The episode delves into the latest job market trends and explores how AI is being integrated into various professions, highlighting both its positive impacts and the challenges it presents.

1. Jobs Friday Overview

Adrian Ma and Darren Woods inaugurate the episode with a segment titled "Jobs Friday," where they analyze recent employment statistics:

• Unemployment Rate: Increased to 4.2% last month.
• Job Additions: The economy added 73,000 jobs, falling short of analysts' expectations.
• BLS Revision: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) made a significant downward revision to previous job numbers, reporting a quarter million fewer jobs than initially stated. Darren Woods remarks, “That downward revision wipes out most of the job gains reported in May and June” (00:48).

These figures suggest that the economy might be grappling with lingering effects from previous administrative policies, including tariffs and immigration measures.

2. AI in the Workplace: Positive Uses

Transitioning from the broader job market, the hosts focus on listener-submitted stories about utilizing AI at work, showcasing a spectrum of applications from beneficial to concerning.

a. Automating Tasks and Increasing Efficiency

Listeners have shared how AI tools are streamlining their workflows:

• David Reshita from Fort Worth, Texas, uses AI to analyze multiple small companies weekly, enhancing his efficiency. Adrian Ma notes, “It does the work of being able to analyze dozens of small companies that we work with, and the fact that we can do that every single week is amazing” (02:53).

• Hannah Williams from Skinny Atlas, New York, leverages AI for research and writing tasks. Misha Arora emphasizes AI as a tool augmentation, stating, “I view it more as a tool rather than, you know, like my replacement, because I like to add my own, you know, my own twist, my own input on it as well” (03:08).

• Ricardo Scotta from Porto Alegre, Brazil, utilizes AI to navigate office politics by rephrasing emotional emails into calmer tones, thereby preventing potential conflicts. He shares, “I wrote a very emotional response before sending it. I asked ChatGPT to help me rephrase in a calmer and more professional tone to avoid making the situation worse” (03:17).

b. Enhancing Creativity and Customization in Education

One standout story is from Misha Arora, a high school economics teacher in New Delhi, India, who uses generative AI to create personalized learning materials:

• Creative Learning Materials: Misha generates quizzes tailored to individual student learning styles, such as graphical content for visual learners or podcasts for auditory learners. She explains, “I can prompt it in a way to create a quiz, which is for a particular student... I can use Google LM to create like a podcast of something and hand it out to another one... or use Suno app to just create like a song and ask the student to analyze that” (04:26–04:58).

• Interactive Lessons: She also engages students by having them create chatbots based on famous economists (e.g., a John Maynard Keynes bot) and analyze the AI-generated responses. Misha states, “The peer discussion that should not be taken away to get them to think is again the job of a teacher” (06:02).

This approach not only makes economics more engaging but also fosters critical thinking among students.

3. AI in the Workplace: Negative Impacts

While AI brings numerous advantages, it also poses significant challenges, particularly concerning job displacement.

a. Potential Job Displacement in Software Engineering

Chris Grebben, a software engineer from Queensland, Australia, shares his mixed experience with AI in coding:

• Increased Productivity: Initially, AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude helped Chris write code more efficiently, allowing him to focus on architectural decisions. He mentions, “Things that would take my brain a lot longer. It was doing it really quickly, and then I would just check over it and copy, paste, copy, paste, do a few things” (07:01–07:07).

• Threat of Obsolescence: However, Chris recently realized that AI has advanced to the point where it can handle higher-level coding tasks, prompting concerns about the future of traditional software engineering roles. He reflects, “Reading the code, understanding to a deep level how everything connects, and then write the exact bit of code that needed to write to fit into that flow” (07:28). This realization leads him to believe that such roles may become obsolete within a year or two, urging current programmers to maximize their productivity while possible (08:01–08:22).

b. Concerns from Professionals

Chris's story underscores a broader anxiety among professionals about AI potentially replacing human roles, especially in fields that involve repetitive or codified tasks. While AI enhances current capabilities, it simultaneously threatens job security for roles that AI can replicate or improve upon.

4. AI at Work: The Ghoulish Side

Not all AI applications yield positive outcomes. One particularly unsettling story comes from Kristen Tomkowid, a wedding and portrait photographer in the Hudson Valley of New York.

• AI Editing Mishap: Kristen attempted to use Photoshop's generative AI features to remove an unwanted bridesmaid from a wedding photo. Instead of seamlessly erasing the individual, the AI inserted a ghoul-like humanoid figure, reminiscent of the lady from the "Scream" painting. She recounts, “I tried, but then I got the weird ghoul people” (09:20–09:26).

• Outcome: The unintended result forced Kristen to abandon the AI-assisted edit, preserving the original photo but highlighting the limitations and unpredictability of current AI technologies in creative tasks.

5. Conclusions: Balancing AI's Benefits and Challenges

The episode concludes by presenting a nuanced view of AI in the workplace:

• Benefits: AI enhances efficiency, creativity, and personalization in various professions, as seen in the stories of David, Hannah, Ricardo, and Misha. It serves as a powerful tool that can augment human capabilities and streamline workflows.

• Challenges: However, AI also introduces uncertainties, particularly regarding job security for roles susceptible to automation. The experiences of Chris and Kristen illustrate both the potential for job displacement and the pitfalls of relying too heavily on AI without thorough oversight.

• Call to Action: The hosts encourage listeners to share their own experiences with AI in the workplace, emphasizing the importance of understanding and navigating the evolving landscape of AI-driven work environments.

Notable Quotes:

• Darren Woods on job numbers: “That downward revision wipes out most of the job gains reported in May and June” (00:48).

• Misha Arora on AI in education: “I view it more as a tool rather than... my replacement... my own twist, my own input” (03:08).

• Chris Grebben on AI's coding capabilities: “If AI can make design decisions on its own, can solve problems and write code, what exactly is left for Chris to do?” (07:39).

• Kristen Tomkowid on AI editing failure: “I tried, but then I got the weird ghoul people” (09:20).

This episode of The Indicator from Planet Money provides a comprehensive exploration of AI's multifaceted role in today's workplaces, offering valuable insights into its potential to both empower and disrupt various professional fields.