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EXPENDABLE: WHAT THE AI TRANSITION MEANS FOR US
Artificial intelligence is not simply another workplace tool. It is the beginning of a transition that may remake how work is organized, who remains economically valuable, and what happens to those left outside the new system.
In Expendable, Jesse Martin examines the reassuring stories now surrounding AI—reskilling, augmentation, corporate loyalty, and the promise that humans will always remain “in the loop.” Drawing on the history of technological displacement, the incentives facing companies, and the emerging economics of AI-native firms, he argues that these stories are less protection than delay.
The real danger is not only that machines may perform individual jobs. It is that widespread displacement can destabilize the communities, public services, and institutions on which every kind of work depends.
This is not a book about how to write better prompts. It is a book about what human beings must develop, defend, and become when routine cognitive work is no longer scarce.
In Expendable, Jesse Martin examines the reassuring stories now surrounding AI—reskilling, augmentation, corporate loyalty, and the promise that humans will always remain “in the loop.” Drawing on the history of technological displacement, the incentives facing companies, and the emerging economics of AI-native firms, he argues that these stories are less protection than delay.
The real danger is not only that machines may perform individual jobs. It is that widespread displacement can destabilize the communities, public services, and institutions on which every kind of work depends.
This is not a book about how to write better prompts. It is a book about what human beings must develop, defend, and become when routine cognitive work is no longer scarce.
261 pages, Paperback
Published September 28, 2026
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