Introduction: Why Agitoy Is Addressing This Topic

With the rapid advancement of generative AI, many companies are experiencing a growing, yet often vague, concern:

“Can our existing business continue to be sustainable as it is?”

At the same time, much of the public discussion remains focused on surface-level questions such as

“Which jobs will be replaced by AI?” or “Will work disappear?”

As a result, the questions that truly matter for management are often insufficiently examined:

• Where is business value actually created?
• Which organizational roles will be restructured?
• What kind of talent will create competitive advantage?

Through our work across advertising, e-commerce, media, and technology, Agitoy has worked alongside both executive leadership and operational teams. In doing so, we have consistently observed that generative AI is not taking jobs away, but rather restructuring the relationship between “work” and “tasks.”

Below, we outline this structural shift.

Definitions of “Work” and “Tasks” in This Article

In this article, we define the terms as follows.

Tasks

• Can be proceduralized and standardized
• Have clear inputs and outputs
• Can be replaced by others or by AI
• Are well suited for efficiency gains and automation

Examples: information gathering, document preparation, implementation, design production, ticket handling, etc.

Work

• Involves purpose, intent, and judgment
• Is context-dependent and difficult to reproduce
• Carries responsibility
• Integrates tasks and converts them into outcomes

Examples: requirements definition, prioritization, structural design, decision-making, coordination and translation, etc.

In other words, work gives meaning to multiple tasks and transforms them into results.

Tasks are only a component of work—not the whole.

1. What Disappears Is “Tasks,” Not “Work”

Generative AI excels at repetitive, standardized tasks:

• Information gathering and summarization
• Initial research
• Drafting code or copy
• Creating banner and text variations
• Generating test cases
• First-pass log analysis
• Simple bug investigation

What AI replaces are tasks that no longer require human involvement—not work itself, such as judgment, structuring, and decision-making.

When executives feel that “we introduced AI, but productivity hasn’t improved as much as expected,” the root cause is often that only tasks were delegated to AI, while work itself was never redesigned.

2. Human Value Concentrates in “Work” (Upstream Processes)

What generative AI still struggles with are forms of work that require contextual understanding, judgment, and coordination:

• Customer understanding and insight extraction
• Decisions grounded in market and cultural context
• Stakeholder coordination (relationships and organizational dynamics)
• Structuring ambiguous requirements
• Prioritization decisions
• Taking responsibility for decisions

These are upstream activities that determine the direction of the business, and at present, they are difficult to replace with AI.

Rather than diminishing the importance of work, the spread of generative AI makes it more visible—and increases its value.

3. Conclusion: What Is Happening Is Not Elimination, but Reorganization

The changes brought by generative AI do not amount to the disappearance of occupations.

What is actually happening is a reorganization of how work and tasks are divided.

Roles Dependent on Tasks (More Easily Replaced by AI)

• Where volume of tasks itself defines value
• Where action is impossible without explicit instructions
• Development or SES roles limited to ticket processing
• Roles responsible only for pattern-based outputs

Roles That Carry Work (Increasing in Value)

• Able to articulate purpose and structure
• Capable of requirements definition and specification design
• Able to read context and coordinate across stakeholders
• Able to leverage AI to dramatically increase productivity
• Able to translate business value into proposals

For companies, what matters is not the number of people performing tasks, but the density of people capable of doing work.

4. The Value of “Work” Is Hard to See

Work—such as requirements definition, translation, structuring, coordination, and judgment—is difficult to visualize as tangible deliverables and is therefore prone to misunderstanding.

As a result, organizations will increasingly be centered around people who can clearly explain what kind of work they are responsible for.

Moreover, organizations that evaluate work and make decisions on the assumption that such explanations are provided will become stronger.

Work whose value is not explained is treated as if it does not exist.

This is one of the most critical inflection points of the AI era.

5. Three Perspectives for Increasing Value in the AI Era

(Common to Management and Operations)

1) Start with 

Why

 (the purpose of the work), not 

What

 (the task)

People who can explain intent are the ones who move decision-making forward.

2) Clearly Design the Division of Roles Between Humans and AI

• AI: research, comparison, drafting, routine tasks
• Humans: judgment, explanation, decision-making, coordination

This design dramatically impacts organizational productivity.

3) Articulate Expertise as “Work”

Work such as requirements definition, structuring, and translation is a critical management asset in the AI era.

Especially in technology and SES domains, the capability to move from

“ambiguity → articulation → implementation”

directly determines competitiveness.

A Message from agitoy to Executive Leadership

Generative AI is not a threat that destroys existing businesses.

It is an opportunity to redefine where business value is created.

Agitoy supports organizations by working alongside both executives and operational teams in:

• Clarifying business structures in the AI era
• Redesigning the relationship between work and tasks within organizations
• Strengthening upstream processes such as requirements definition and structuring
• Connecting marketing and technology in a coherent way

As the value of tasks rapidly declines, organizational competitiveness will be determined by the ability to carry work—meaning-making, judgment, and structuring.

Together with leaders who are facing this transformation, we aim to co-create the next shape of growth.