As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the workforce, Yoshua Bengio, one of the pioneers of modern AI and widely regarded as a "godfather of AI," shared heartfelt advice for his 4-year-old grandson about preparing for the future. Speaking on an episode of "The Diary of a CEO" podcast hosted by Steven Bartlett—released on December 18—Bengio emphasized the enduring value of human qualities over technical skills. “Work on the beautiful human being that you can become,” Bengio said. He believes that even as AI takes over most jobs traditionally done behind a keyboard, and potentially even physical roles like plumbing in the distant future, the essence of being human will remain irreplaceable. Bengio acknowledged that automation is accelerating. He predicted that AI will soon be capable of performing most cognitive tasks, but stressed that human traits such as empathy, compassion, accountability, and the ability to contribute meaningfully to others’ well-being will grow in importance. “If I’m in a hospital, I want a human being to hold my hand while I’m anxious or in pain,” he said. “The human touch is going to, I think, take more and more value as other skills become automated.” Alongside Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun, Bengio helped lay the foundation for deep learning and neural networks, revolutionizing AI development. Today, he is a professor at the Université de Montréal and recently launched LawZero, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing AI safety. The organization focuses on mitigating risks associated with agentic AI systems—particularly behaviors like deception and unintended autonomy. As AI reshapes careers across industries, all three AI pioneers have offered guidance on navigating the changing landscape. In a June 2025 episode of "The Diary of a CEO," Hinton suggested that physical trades like plumbing could be resilient to automation and thus promising career paths. Meanwhile, LeCun recently advised aspiring AI professionals to prioritize foundational disciplines—mathematics and physics—over trendy, short-term tech courses, arguing that deep understanding is key to long-term innovation. Together, their messages converge on a central theme: while AI will redefine work, the most enduring advantage humans possess lies not in what they can build or automate, but in who they are.