Anthropic bets on human editors amid AI layoffs, revaluing soft skills
Amid a widespread wave of media layoffs increasingly attributed to artificial intelligence, Anthropic—itself a company at the forefront of AI development—is making a notably counterintuitive move: it’s hiring human talent. The prominent AI startup is actively seeking a managing editor to lead its expanding editorial team, a decision that underscores the enduring value of human skills that machines still cannot replicate. Based in New York or San Francisco, this pivotal role is envisioned as the “organizational backbone” of the operation, tasked with steering collaboration, refining internal systems, and managing the people essential to its function.
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence into the workforce has undeniably led to significant job displacement and considerable uncertainty across various industries. Even Anthropic’s own CEO, Dario Amodei, has voiced concerns, predicting that unemployment could surge to between 10% and 20% in the next one to five years due to job eliminations. The media sector, in particular, has felt the brunt of these shifts. Earlier this year, Business Insider, for example, laid off 21% of its staff, citing a strategic pivot towards AI and live events. Many media outlets, amidst staff reductions, are increasingly resorting to AI-generated content, sometimes inadvertently.
Yet, Anthropic’s decision to invest in human editorial expertise stands in stark contrast to these trends. This human-driven strategy follows a notable internal experiment: a failed attempt at an AI-generated blog, where the company tasked its chatbot, Claude, with writing blog posts. That venture proved short-lived, with Anthropic shutting it down just a week after its launch, highlighting the limitations of current AI in producing nuanced, high-quality narrative content.
The newly advertised managing editor position will entail core responsibilities such as maintaining the editorial calendar, coordinating workflows, and providing edits—tasks that, in some contexts, could be partially delegated to AI. However, the job description heavily emphasizes a suite of uniquely human capabilities: serving as a cross-team liaison, managing complex relationships, and rigorously enforcing deadlines. This focus on interpersonal and organizational acumen aligns with broader industry observations regarding the evolving landscape of professional skills. LinkedIn’s “Skills on the Rise” list for this year, while ranking AI literacy as the top skill employers are seeking, prominently featured “soft skills” like conflict mitigation, adaptability, and innovative thinking in subsequent positions. This trend is echoed in other analyses, with Autodesk’s “2025 AI Job Report” noting that “human skills aren’t being replaced—they’re being revalued.”
This growing appreciation for human skills resonates deeply within professional circles. As one person commented on LinkedIn in reaction to Anthropic’s job listing, “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 elaborated on LinkedIn, asserting that “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, she concluded, are now recognizing this indispensable human element. Anthropic’s strategic hiring decision thus signals a nuanced understanding of technology’s role: while AI transforms industries and automates many functions, the irreplaceable human capacities for critical thought, ethical judgment, and compelling storytelling are not merely surviving but flourishing in value.