What happens when artificial intelligence meets work that can’t be fully documented, standardized, or abstracted?

In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with Shin Nakamura, President of ONE to ONE Holdings, to explore the limits of AI through the lens of manufacturing. Drawing on his experience leading factories across Japan and Vietnam, Shin offers a grounded view of why much of today’s work still depends on human judgment, cultural context, and knowledge that lives in people rather than systems.

The conversation moves beyond the familiar blue-collar versus white-collar debate to examine a deeper divide: work that can be reduced to tasks versus work that requires adaptation, situational awareness, and tacit expertise. Together, Nirit and Shin unpack why low-volume, high-variation environments resist automation, how language and culture quietly shape whether AI succeeds or fails, and why so much critical knowledge has never been written down in the first place.

They also reflect on what Gen Z’s career choices reveal about this shift, why career security is being redefined around capability rather than job titles, and how AI risks widening gaps by making some forms of work visible while leaving others invisible.

If you’re trying to understand where AI delivers real value, where it falls short, and what kinds of work are likely to endure in an automated world, this conversation offers a rare, on-the-ground perspective from the factory floor.

https://youtu.be/WupIMAo_G7g

Guest Information:

Shinichiro (SHIN) Nakamura, President of one to ONE Holdings:

Shin is a manufacturing and global thought leader in the secondary steel processing industry. He is the President of ONE to ONE Holdings, which operates steel tube-making factories in Japan and Vietnam and provides inline galvanizing technology to tubing companies worldwide. His original family business, Daiwa Steel Tube Industries, is one of the largest producers of inline-galvanized steel tubes in East Asia.

From leading cross-border operations to overseeing factory-level development, Shin works directly within the type of blue-collar workforce that younger professionals are increasingly gravitating to. This gives him a close view of how job preferences are shifting, why some young workers are choosing skilled manufacturing roles over traditional office careers, and what industries like his are doing to attract and retain new talent.

Shin is a past Regional Chair of the YPO North Asia region and currently serves on the Board of Governors at the Asia School of Business. He previously worked as a consultant at Bain & Company and received his MBA from MIT Sloan, specializing in New Product & Venture Development.

Chapters:
00:00 — Why Gen Z Is Choosing Manufacturing Over Office Jobs
01:31 — Why Young Workers See the Future of Work Differently
03:08 — How Income Inequality Is Reshaping Global Career Choices
04:59 — How Automation and Robotics Are Changing Factory Jobs
06:00 — Why Some Manufacturing Jobs Cannot Be Fully Automated
07:33 — What Young Workers Expect From Modern Factory Jobs
09:44 — Are White-Collar Job Losses Pushing Talent Into Manufacturing?
10:36 — How Manufacturing Must Change to Attract Skilled Talent
12:40 — How AI Adoption in Manufacturing Depends on Economics
13:58 — Does AI Work Equally Well Across Languages and Cultures?
15:35 — Why AI Struggles With Tacit and Cultural Knowledge
17:26 — Why Japanese Manufacturing Knowledge Is Hard to Digitize
19:17 — Where AI Stops Working in Craft-Based Industries
20:52 — Why Shorter Careers Threaten Knowledge Transfer
21:55 — How Manufacturers Make Blue-Collar Jobs More Attractive
22:56 — The Most Important Question About the Future of Work

What if the most important skill for the future of work isn’t technical or strategic—but human?

In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with Claude Silver, the world’s first Chief Heart Officer and No. 2 executive at VaynerX, to explore what it really means to lead with heart. As the right hand to Gary Vaynerchuk, Claude has built a culture where empathy, belonging, and authenticity are not soft skills—they’re strategic advantages.

Together, Nirit and Claude unpack how workplaces can scale humanity, how leaders can create belonging even across time zones and generations, and why fitting in is outdated in a world that demands genuine connection. Claude shares how her framework of emotional optimism, bravery, and efficiency helps leaders balance compassion with performance—and why fear around AI is an opportunity to rediscover what makes us uniquely human.

They explore what “being yourself at work” truly looks like, how to design cultures where individuality is celebrated instead of suppressed, and why the heart—not the algorithm—will define the next era of leadership.

If you’ve ever wondered how to build trust in a hybrid world, how to bring more humanity into leadership, or how to stay grounded as technology transforms what we do, this conversation will change how you think about work—and about yourself.

https://youtu.be/bgxBXr_GrzQ

Guest Information:

Claude Silver, Chief Heart Officer at VaynerX and author of Be Yourself at Work.

Claude Silver is on a mission to revolutionize leadership, talent, and workplace culture. She is the world's first Chief Heart Officer at VaynerX and partners with CEO Gary Vaynerchuk to drive their success. Silver has earned Campaign US's Female Frontier Award and AdWeek's Changing the Game Award and she electrifies audiences at national and international conferences and at organizations, including Meta, Google, US Government agencies, and the US Armed Forces. She has been interviewed on dozens of podcasts and featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. She is the author of Be Yourself at Work: The Groundbreaking Power of Showing Up, Standing Out, and Leading from the Heart.

Links:

Website: https://www.claudesilver.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/casilver/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claudesilver/?hl=en

Chapters:

00:00 – What Does Being Yourself at Work Really Mean?
01:15 – What Does a Chief Heart Officer Do?
03:10 – Why VaynerX Created the Chief Heart Officer Role
04:55 – What Makes Humans Valuable in an AI World?
06:45 – Can Empathy Drive Business Performance?
08:55 – Do Companies Still Need Humans When AI Is Everywhere?
10:45 – What Is Authentic Presence at Work?
11:05 – Emotional Optimism, Bravery, and Efficiency Explained
13:35 – How to Face AI Fear Without Ignoring It
14:50 – Why Fitting In at Work Is Outdated
15:55 – How to Create Belonging in Hybrid and Remote Teams
16:45 – Why Managers Are the Weakest Link in Culture
17:20 – How to Train Managers to Build Trust
18:05 – How to Build a Culture Where You Don’t Have to Change to Belong
19:30 – How VaynerX Scales Culture Across Countries
21:40 – Can Processes Kill Authenticity at Work?
23:40 – How to Put People First During Layoffs and Hard Decisions
26:30 – What Question Should We Be Asking About the Future of Work?
28:55 – How AI Changes What Makes You Valuable at Work

As AI takes on not just what we do—but how we decide, create, and
communicate—the question isn’t how fast technology will move. It’s how
deeply we’ll remember what makes us human.
In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with
Joe Hart, CEO of Dale Carnegie, and Matt Britton, CEO of Suzy and author of
Generation AI, to explore how people can future-proof themselves in an
AI-driven world.
Together, they unpack what happens as AI redefines work—from the end of the
knowledge economy to the rise of new “co-creation” roles where humans and
machines work side by side. Matt shares why creativity, curiosity, and
problem-solving have become the new competitive edge, while Joe reveals why
empathy, trust, and communication will matter more than ever for leaders
navigating change.
The conversation dives into how education and training must evolve, what
leadership looks like when teams include both people and intelligent agents,
and why agility and emotional intelligence—not technical mastery—will
determine who thrives next.
If you’ve ever wondered how to stay relevant when machines can do almost
everything, this is the episode to listen to.
https://youtu.be/ZSDsDWcs8nc
Guest Information:
Joe Hart, CEO of Dale Carnegie Training, is a transformational leader and
co-author of the Wall Street Journal's #3 Bestseller, Take Command. Guiding
the globally recognized Dale Carnegie organization, he infuses the brand
with a modern perspective, impacting millions worldwide. He is an inspiring
leader who seeks to bring out the best in others. Hart is considered an
acclaimed thought leader whose incisive commentary regularly appeared in
Newsweek and Rolling Stone. With captivating speaking engagements and a
popular leadership podcast, Take Command, his influence extends across
industries. Prior to Dale Carnegie, he helped found Asset Health, an
innovative company that works to revolutionize workplace wellness.
Matt Britton is one of the world’s leading
voices on artificial intelligence, generational change, and the future of
work. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Youth Nation and the
2025 national bestselling book Generation AI, which explores how AI and
Generation Alpha will reshape every corner of society. A sought-after
keynote speaker and host of The Speed of Culture podcast with Adweek, Matt
has advised more than half of the Fortune 500 and shared insights with
audiences around the world. He is also the founder and CEO of Suzy, a
venture-backed consumer intelligence platform trusted by companies like
Netflix, Coca-Cola, and P&G.
Matt Britton and Joe Hart / Dale Carnegie co-created Human by Design
: Future-Proofing Yourself
in an AI-Driven World course, predicting that roles requiring creativity,
critical thinking, and complex problem-solving as well as effective
communications will remain. These human-centric skills are essential in
navigating the evolving workplace.
Chapters:
00:00 – What Makes Us Human in an AI World
01:10 – The End of the Knowledge Economy
03:05 – Human Skills AI Cannot Replace
04:40 – Why Leadership Matters in the Age of AI
06:50 – Will AI Replace Jobs or Redefine Them?
09:50 – How Humans Stay Valuable in an AI Workplace
11:50 – What AI Still Gets Wrong About Humans
13:30 – How Learning Must Change for the AI Era
15:20 – The Rise of the AI-Powered Solopreneur
17:15 – Can Organizations Keep Up With AI Change?
19:10 – Who Gets Left Behind in the AI Revolution?
20:50 – How to Build AI Fluency in Daily Life
22:50 – Building Trust in a Digital and AI-Driven Workplace
24:55 – Why Caring Is a Critical Leadership Skill
26:40 – How to Future-Proof Your Career With AI
27:55 – The One Question to Ask About Your Future With AI
29:10 – Doing More of What Only Humans Can Do