Anthropic Bets on Human Editors Amid AI Layoffs, Revaluing Soft Skills
Amid a widespread wave of layoffs across the media industry, often attributed to the increasing integration of artificial intelligence, an unexpected counter-narrative is emerging from an unlikely source: Anthropic, one of the very companies spearheading this technological disruption. The AI startup is actively seeking a managing editor to lead its expanding editorial team, a move that underscores the enduring value of human skills that machines have yet to replicate.
The new role, based in either New York or San Francisco, is envisioned as the “organizational backbone” of Anthropic’s content operations, tasked with steering collaboration, optimizing systems, and managing the human talent essential for their work. This strategic hiring decision comes at a time when the rapid adoption of AI in the workforce has fueled significant job losses and pervasive uncertainty across various sectors. Even Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s own CEO, has voiced concerns, predicting that unemployment could surge to between 10% and 20% within the next one to five years due to job displacement by AI.
The media industry, in particular, has felt the profound impact of this shift. Earlier this year, for instance, Business Insider reportedly laid off 21% of its staff, citing a strategic pivot towards AI integration and live events. Many outlets are increasingly relying on AI-generated content, sometimes inadvertently, as they navigate staff reductions.
However, Anthropic’s recent job listing suggests a growing recognition that while AI is undoubtedly here to stay, human-centric skills are becoming more coveted than ever. This hiring initiative follows a significant expansion of Anthropic’s communications team, which, according to Axios, aims to triple its size by the end of the year. The editorial team, specifically, is responsible for overseeing research communications and narrative content that explores AI and its broader societal implications.
This human-driven strategy is notably informed by Anthropic’s previous, unsuccessful venture into AI-generated content. The company had tasked its advanced chatbot, Claude, with writing blog posts for its own platform, but the experiment was quickly abandoned, with the AI-powered blog being shut down just a week after its launch.
While some editorial tasks, such as maintaining calendars and coordinating workflows, could theoretically be delegated to AI, the core responsibilities outlined in the managing editor job description heavily emphasize distinctly human capabilities. These include serving as a cross-team liaison, managing complex relationships, and enforcing deadlines – skills that demand nuanced judgment, empathy, and interpersonal acumen.
This re-evaluation of human skills extends beyond Anthropic. LinkedIn’s “Skills on the Rise” list for the current year, for example, identified AI literacy as the top skill employers seek. Yet, the subsequent entries on the list—such as conflict mitigation, adaptability, and innovative thinking—all highlighted critical soft skills. Similarly, Autodesk’s 2025 AI Job Report echoed these findings, concluding that “human skills aren’t being replaced—they’re being revalued.”
These sentiments resonate widely, particularly on social media. Commenting on Anthropic’s job listing on LinkedIn, one user 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 emphasized this point in her own LinkedIn post, stating, “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.” This suggests a growing consensus that while AI offers powerful tools, the ultimate arbiter of quality and nuance in content creation remains, and likely will remain, human.