Anthropic bets on human editors amid AI job cuts
The landscape of the media industry is being dramatically reshaped by artificial intelligence, often leading to widespread layoffs. Yet, Anthropic, a prominent AI startup at the very heart of this technological disruption, is taking a remarkably counter-intuitive step: it’s hiring a human. The company is actively seeking a managing editor to lead its expanding editorial team, a move that underscores the enduring value of human capabilities machines still cannot replicate.
This New York or San Francisco-based position is envisioned as the “organizational backbone” of the operation, tasked with orchestrating collaboration, streamlining systems, and managing the human talent that keeps the content engine running. This decision comes amidst a period of profound uncertainty across various sectors, largely driven by the rapid integration of AI into the workforce. Anthropic’s own CEO, Dario Amodei, has publicly voiced concerns that AI could contribute to a significant rise in unemployment, potentially reaching 10% to 20% within the next one to five years.
The media sector, in particular, has felt the brunt of this shift. Earlier this year, for instance, Business Insider announced a 21% reduction in its staff, citing a strategic pivot towards AI integration and live events. Many other outlets, some inadvertently, are increasingly relying on AI-generated content to fill the void left by staff cuts.
In stark contrast, Anthropic appears to be doubling down on human expertise. The new managing editor role follows a broader expansion of the company’s communications team, which, according to Axios, aims to triple its size by the end of the year. The editorial team’s mandate is to oversee research communications and narrative content, specifically focusing on the complex societal impacts of AI. This human-centric strategy is not without precedent for Anthropic; it follows a notable setback where the company attempted to launch an AI-generated blog using its chatbot, Claude. That experiment was swiftly abandoned, shutting down just a week after its debut, highlighting the limitations of purely automated content creation.
While some of the managing editor’s responsibilities, such as maintaining an editorial calendar, coordinating workflows, and providing edits, might seem delegable to AI, the core skills required for the role point overwhelmingly to indispensable human attributes. These include serving as a cross-team liaison, nurturing relationships, and ensuring deadlines are met—tasks that demand nuanced judgment and interpersonal finesse.
This re-evaluation of human skills is a trend being observed across industries. LinkedIn’s “Skills on the Rise” list for this year, while predictably ranking AI literacy as the top sought-after skill, saw a subsequent emphasis on “soft skills” like conflict mitigation, adaptability, and innovative thinking. Echoing this sentiment, Autodesk’s 2025 AI Job Report concluded that “human skills aren’t being replaced—they’re being revalued.”
The sentiment resonates widely, even among the public. Reacting to Anthropic’s job listing on LinkedIn, one commentator remarked, “Not surprised. AI is better every day, but humans are still needed to keep garbage from going in and out.” Annalyn Kurtz, executive editor at Deloitte Insights, further underscored this perspective in a LinkedIn post: “Editorial expertise is still a high-value craft. The unique combo of critical thinking, context awareness, audience empathy, storytelling judgment, fact-checking rigor, digital savvy, and creativity remains essential. Even leading AI companies are recognizing that.” In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, Anthropic’s decision offers a compelling reminder that the human touch, far from being obsolete, is becoming ever more critical.