On April 8th, Micha Kaufman sent an email to his staff that literally broke the internet. Tech executives called it “the most honest corporate message ever written.” Business leaders shared it thousands of times. HR departments used it in emergency meetings.
You’ve probably never heard of Kaufman, but his brutal wake-up call about AI and jobs contains lessons every Irish teacher needs to hear right now. Kaufman runs Fiverr, the $2.9 billion platform that revolutionised freelance work globally. When the CEO of a company built on human talent tells his staff that AI is coming for their jobs, we should listen.
His recent email wasn’t about business success. It was about survival.
Faced with AI threatening the freelance economy his company pioneered, Kaufman core warning?
“AI is coming for your jobs. Heck, it’s coming for my job too.”
The full email strips away corporate politeness with surgical precision. No sugar-coating. No gradual timelines. Just unfiltered assessment of AI workplace reality. You can read it here…
Here are five key takeaways from his email that reflect our new reality.
1. The Foundation Jobs Have Vanished
“What was once considered ‘easy tasks’ will no longer exist.” – Kaufman
Traditional entry-level jobs for young white-collar workers are disappearing. Filing, basic data entry, routine customer service: these roles will soon no longer exist.
For Irish teachers, this means we must stop preparing students for entry-level jobs that are vanishing. Rather than focusing on basic administrative tasks or surface-level research skills, we should prioritise critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and the ability to assess and refine work produced by AI. Students also need to learn when it is appropriate to use AI and when it is not. Developing this kind of judgement is now essential for their future working lives.
2. AI Changes the Competition
“If you do not become an exceptional talent at what you do, a master, you will face the need for a career change in a matter of months.” – Kaufman
The competition is no longer just human versus human. Increasingly, it’s also human versus AI. But more often, the real divide is between workers who know how to use AI effectively and those who don’t.
Students need to understand this new reality: when AI can produce very good work, being average isn’t enough. The worker who combines their expertise with AI tools will replace the worker who relies on skills alone. As Irish teachers, we must help students find the right balance between developing their own capabilities and learning to augment them with AI. The goal isn’t AI dependence or AI avoidance; it’s AI fluency that enhances human judgment and creativity. Bottom line; the future belongs to those who can work with AI, not against it.
3. Google Skills Are Already Obsolete
“Become a prompt engineer. Google is dead. LLM and GenAI are the new basics.” – Kaufman
We’re teaching internet research whilst students need AI collaboration skills. Search engines have been replaced by AI assistants in professional settings.
For Irish teachers, this is the most immediate challenge. If you’re still teaching students to “Google it,” you’re preparing them for outdated work methods. Students need to learn how to ask AI systems for specific, professional-quality outputs: writing that matches particular styles, analysis that considers multiple perspectives, research that identifies reliable sources. This isn’t about using AI to cheat; it’s about using AI as a professional tool.
4. Working Methods Must Change Immediately
“If you’re working like it’s 2024, you’re doing it wrong! You are expected and needed to do more, faster, and more efficiently now.” – Kaufman
Educational institutions adapt slowly, whilst AI-driven workplace transformation operates at unprecedented speed.
Our education leaders need to understand that our typical pace of change isn’t fast enough anymore. While we plan AI integration over years, our students’ future colleagues are already using these tools daily. The comfortable approach of “introducing technology gradually” means our students will be behind from day one in their careers. We need to accelerate our own learning and start using AI tools in our teaching immediately, not next year or when official policies are finally published.
5. Survival Requires Constant Adaptation
“Stop waiting for the world or your place of work to hand you opportunities to learn and grow: create those opportunities yourself.” – Kaufman
The days of getting a degree and being qualified for life are well and truly gone. Constant professional development has become the new norm.
We need to help students understand that initial qualifications are just the starting point, not the destination. The traditional model where education ended and career began has been replaced by continuous learning throughout working life. Students must develop self-directed learning habits and the ability to identify skill gaps before they become career obstacles. Irish education must shift from presenting learning as something that happens in schools to something that continues throughout professional life. Our role is preparing students who can adapt, upskill, and reinvent themselves as workplace demands evolve.
The Reality Irish Education Must Face
Kaufman’s message wasn’t meant specifically for educators, but his assessment of workplace transformation should concern every Irish teacher and school leader.
Our students are entering employment markets where traditional career progression no longer exists. They need teachers who understand AI capabilities and can prepare them for AI-integrated workplaces.
Educational leaders must urgently ask: are we preparing students for the futures they will actually face? And just as importantly, are we equipping our teachers for this new reality?
Reading Kaufman’s email highlights more than ever the need to pause Leaving Certificate reform. Teachers need time to be properly trained in what AI is, when it should be used, and how to use it effectively in the classroom. We must frontload this education now to ensure that any new curriculum is genuinely fit for purpose.
Remember! Kaufman didn’t send his email to make predictions about the future. He sent it because the transformation is happening now, and his team needed to adapt immediately to survive.
Irish education faces the same choice.
Patrick Hickey is a current post-primary teacher of History and English, with a focus on integrating Artificial Intelligence into the classroom. Patrick has been featured on Irish media outlets such as RTÉ Six-One News, TV3’s “Tonight Show,” “The Irish Times” and Newstalk Radio on the area of AI in Education.
Contact Patrick at patrickhickey600@gmail.com for any requests for training, webinars, workshops or keynote speaking