Ex-Google exec: The idea that AI will create new jobs is ’100% crap’—even CEOs are at risk of displacement

Mo Gawdat, former chief business officer at Google X, the company’s innovation lab, says AI is likely coming for your role — whether you’re in the C-suite or an entry-level worker.

The idea that artificial intelligence will create jobs is “100% crap,” Gawdat said Monday on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast, using his own AI startup, Emma.love, as an example. He and two other software experts built the app with the help of AI, a project that would have required “350 developers in the past,” he said.

Gawdat has worked in tech for over 30 years. He was in the C-suite at Google X for almost five years tackling major problems facing humanity, like energy, climate change and internet access.

Even the jobs you may think require humans will be eliminated, including video editors, podcasters and executives, said Gawdat. Bill Gates has predicted that doctors and teachers will also be replaced in the coming years.

Those who have the most promising outlook are professionals who are the best at their jobs, said Gawdat, author of “Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World.” But even they won’t be safe forever.

Artificial general intelligence is “going to be better than humans at everything, including being a CEO,” said Gawdat. “There will be a time where most incompetent CEOs will be replaced.”

A competitive edge in the workforce

Other leaders say AI isn’t all doom and gloom. Billionaires Mark Cuban and Jensen Huang, for example, say learning AI skills — in addition to strengthening soft skills — will make you highly desirable in the workplace and give you a competitive edge. After all, somebody has to program, develop and train the chatbots, and teach others to do the same.

Both Cuban, who has a free AI boot camp for kids, and Huang, whose company develops the chips and software powering many of today’s generative systems, use artificial intelligence on a daily basis for tasks like writing first drafts, sending emails and getting medical advice.

Though 41% of employers globally plan to downsize their workforce due to AI (48% in the U.S.), 77% of employers are planning to upskill their current workforce to better work alongside AI, according to The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs report. Moreover, 47% are looking at transitioning employees from declining roles into other roles in the organization.

Put simply, companies aren’t going on a firing spree to replace human workers with robots right now.

An AI-powered future may not be all bad

Though Gawdat says the job market will suffer greatly due to AI, this economic shift may help spark necessary change to our outlook on work, giving people more time to spend with family, cultivate new hobbies, pursue philanthropy and find an identity outside of a job title.

“We were never made to wake up every morning and just occupy 20 hours of our day with work. We’re not made for that,” he said. “We defined our purpose as work. That’s a capitalist lie.”

An AI-powered society would require some kind of universal basic income (UBI), said Gawdat, a social welfare policy that ensures all citizens of a community regularly receive a payment from the government without work requirements.

The other caveat to this “utopia” is the potentially dangerous consequences of the “hunger for power, greed and ego” as AI bots report to “stupid leaders,” said Gawdat, calling for ethical use and regulations around artificial intelligence.

No matter the impact of artificial intelligence, or the approaches different leaders take, one thing remains undisputable: AI is no longer a curiosity, or a plot line in a sci-fi film. It’s revolutionizing the way people live and work. And it’s here to stay.

“This is real,” Gawdat said. “This is not science fiction.”

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27-year-old first-grade teacher lived paycheck to paycheck due to her impulsive spending

Maddie Baker, 27, will be the first to admit she was an impulsive spender when she started teaching kindergarteners six years ago.

She bought coffee at least once a day, frequently shopped for new clothes and spent lavishly on vacations she says she “probably had no business going on.”

“Any day that I had a hard day at teaching, I would immediately go from my job to a store,” the now first-grade teacher tells CNBC Make It. “The way I was coping with hard days was by spending money.”

Baker isn’t alone. Almost half of American consumers say they make purchases to boost their mood, according to LendingTree survey data released in July. Emotional spending isn’t always bad, either. It can provide temporary comfort or a needed mood boost. However, it can also lead to financial strain.

Baker says her impulsive spending got so out of hand, she found herself in “horrible cycles” of living paycheck to paycheck to avoid going into credit card debt. Nationally, almost three-quarters of emotional shoppers admit they’ve spent more than they intended, and 44% say it’s negatively impacted their financial well-being, LendingTree found.

It took Baker three years to get her spending under control, she says. Today, she’s very intentional with how she spends her money and has even developed new hobbies from habits she’s built to save money.

‘It became so stressful’

“I remember just waking up every single day, and the stress of finances was just really getting me down,” says Baker, who was making around $50,000 a year at the time. “It became so stressful.”

Nearly Baker’s entire paycheck would go directly toward paying off her credit card. Because she was paid once a month, that often left her with little to live on — forcing her to rely on the card for new expenses and trapping her in a constant cycle of borrowing from herself.

She tried everything to earn extra cash. She tutored kids during her summer breaks, tried selling her clothes and donating her plasma, but none of it seemed to sustain her lifestyle, she says.

Baker got her spending under control three years into teaching through a tax refund that allowed her to pay off her credit card bill without using her paycheck. Now, she keeps enough in her checking account to pay her credit card bill every month without having to rely on an incoming paycheck.

“It took a total restart and being tired of the cycle I was in, in order to do something about it,” she says.

How to curb wasteful spending

Young adults are particularly susceptible to overspending when they’re online or bombarded with bad news, Ylva Baeckström, a senior lecturer in finance at King’s Business School, said in 2024. Overwhelming feelings can lead to unhealthy spending habits as a way to cope or find relief, Baeckström said.

To avoid overspending, “one of the biggest things you can do is take a beat,” Keith Barron, a personal finance expert and former head of marketing at Jenius Bank, said in 2024.

Rather than heading straight to checkout when shopping online, try adding the item to a wish list and waiting a day or two. This brief delay can help you decide whether you genuinely want or need the item, Barron said.

From saving money to finding new hobbies

Today, Baker is working toward building an emergency fund and saving for a house, and says she’s way more intentional about what she decides to spend money on.

On top of learning how to spend less impulsively, she says she’s found alternatives to save money and a side hustle creating videos on TikTok to bring in more income. Her silver lining: Many of the activities that started as a way to save have become hobbies as well.

She enjoys painting her own nails, making lattes at home and meal prepping to avoid eating out. On TikTok, she earns up to $2,000 a month from sharing videos about her life as a teacher.

“All of these things happened because I had the mindset of, ‘I need to save more money, and I need to spend less money,’” she says.

Walmart exec shares the ultimate red flag she sees in employees: ‘Nobody’ will want to hire you

If you ask Donna Morris, there’s one behavior that’s the ultimate red flag an employee won’t get far in the workplace: when someone is a “Debbie Downer.”

Morris, 57, has been executive vice president and chief people officer at Walmart since 2020, helping shape the employee experience of 2.1 million workers since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to her current role, she spent 17 years at Adobe in a variety of leadership positions — and throughout her career, she’s learned a thing or two about red flags in the office.

“Nobody wants [to hire] a Debbie Downer,” Morris tells CNBC Make It, adding that this kind of person is “constantly negative. You know they’re going to show up [and] they’re going to bring the problem, never the solution. I like people who bring the problem and a suggestion for how they might resolve [it.]”

A “Debbie Downer” can also be someone who’s a naysayer, sharing negative opinions about others’ ideas and goals, or regularly being a hindrance to new projects and perspectives. This could make it difficult for them to make the connections needed to climb the corporate ladder, or for their bosses and managers to trust them with new projects.

If your co-worker has this character trait, they’re “only going to support you to a restricted limit,” Juliette Han, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist, told CNBC Make It in June 2023. “They need you to stay within a short leash, and might discourage you from meeting new people in the company or going after new projects if it doesn’t benefit them directly.”

That doesn’t mean you should practice toxic optimism, pretending everything is fine when your team is facing difficult circumstances, for example. It’s unnatural and unrealistic for someone to be happy all the time, Morris says. Similarly, a continuous negative spiral could be a signal that you’re in the wrong job or company, she adds.

How to actually get ahead

There are a couple attributes that separate the most highly successful employees to those who fall short, says Morris.

She thinks highly of workers who “deliver what you are expecting at the time that you’re expecting,” she says. “You’re better to deliver early than to deliver late, and you’re better to deliver more than less.”

“Another green flag is they’re open to opportunities, and they put their hand up to take on more,” she adds. “Or they bring a problem with the remedy or request help in a timely manner, as opposed to the house is on fire.”

You can show you have this kind of team player, self-starter attitude by offering help even when you’re not asked for it, like volunteering to mentor the new intern or pitching an idea that solves a problem your boss has been dealing with.

Demonstrating radical intellectual curiosity, like researching a new AI tool or a new software your competitors are using, then sharing your findings with your boss or manager, also goes a long way, according to Michael Ramlett, CEO of global data intelligence firm Morning Consult.

And if you’re willing to help your colleagues along the way, acting as a mentor and sharing the things you’ve learned, that’s the icing on the cake, Morris says.

“People who you see are actually helping others [are a] total green flag.”

I’ve studied over 200 kids—parents who are ‘really good’ at handling tantrums use 7 ‘calming’ phrases

Every parent knows what it’s like to face tantrums, meltdowns, and emotional outbursts. They can make everyday life feel impossible.

But after years of studying over 200 parent-child relationships (and from practicing healthy habits with my own child), I’ve found that parents who are really good at handling tantrums use language that soothes, validates, and guides. They try to avoid punishments or timeouts, and they understand that a tantrum is a sign of the nervous system in distress.

Here are seven calming yet powerful phrases that emotionally attuned parents use to connect, make their kid feel safe, and ultimately help prevent meltdowns.

1. ‘You’re having a big feeling. I’m right here with you.’

Instead of: “Stop crying right now!”

This phrase does what no consequence can: It grounds a kid in the moment and lets them borrow your calm. It tells their nervous system they don’t have to handle their feelings alone, and that you’re not afraid of their emotions.

When children feel supported through big emotions, they move through them faster and learn they don’t need to escalate to get your attention.

2. ‘I believe you.’

Instead of: “You’re being dramatic. It’s not that bad.”

Kids are often met with responses like, “You’re fine” or “That’s not a big deal!” But parents who say “I believe you” give their child something far more powerful: validation.

Validation strengthens the child’s inner compass and reinforces trust. Children who feel believed calm down quicker because they don’t have to fight to be understood. That sense of trust helps them regulate faster.

3. ‘Your feelings make sense.’

Instead of: “There’s no reason to be upset about this.”

Even if the situation doesn’t seem like a big deal to us, children need to know their reactions are understandable. This phrase helps them organize and process what they’re feeling, rather than shoving it down or acting it out.

When children know their feelings are normal, they stop fighting against them and can move through them more naturally.

4. ‘I’m not upset with you. I’m here to help you through this.’

Instead of: “You’re so frustrating!”

Parents often think they need to show anger to prove a point. But in reality, reassurance deactivates a child’s fight-or-flight response far more effectively than punishment.

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When kids don’t feel threatened by your anger, they can focus on calming down instead of defending themselves.

5. ‘It’s okay to feel angry. I won’t let you hurt yourself or anyone else.’

Instead of: “What’s wrong with you? Stop hitting or else!”

This phrase models boundaries with compassion. It sends the message that all emotions are allowed and valid, but certain actions are not.

During tantrums, your goal should be to set limits without shaming. Children who aren’t shamed for their feelings learn to express them in healthier ways, reducing the intensity and frequency of outbursts.

6. ‘Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.’

Instead of: “Calm down right now!”

Many tantrums are fueled by panic (e.g., panic that love or safety might be withdrawn). This simple phrase reduces anxiety and creates the conditions a child needs to regulate.

When children aren’t rushed through their emotions, they naturally return to calm faster than when they’re pressured to “get over it.”

7. ‘We’ll get through this together.’

Instead of: “You need to figure this out yourself.”

Ultimately, what every child wants to know is this: “Are you still with me, even now?” This phrase reminds them they’re not alone, and that their worth isn’t tied to perfect behavior.

Kids who feel supported through difficult moments build confidence in their ability to handle challenges, making future meltdowns less likely.

The secret to handling tantrums? Moving from control to connection

What makes these phrases so powerful is the mindset shift they represent. Instead of seeing your child’s big emotions as something to stop, you’re seeing them as something to witness. Instead of trying to control their feelings, you’re helping them feel safe enough to process them.

Of course, these phrases won’t stop every meltdown in its tracks. But they plant seeds that grow into something beautiful: a child who trusts their own feelings, knows that they’re worthy of support, and believes that love doesn’t disappear when life gets hard.

Reem Raouda is a leading voice in conscious parenting and the creator of two transformative journals — FOUNDATIONS, the step-by-step healing guide that transforms overwhelmed parents into emotionally safe ones, and BOUND, the connection journal that builds lifelong trust and strengthens the parent-child bond in just minutes a day. She is widely recognized for her expertise in children’s emotional safety and for redefining what it means to raise emotionally healthy kids. Follow her on Instagram.