The People AI Companies Most Want but Cannot Hire Right Now
This is a typical example of a new role created by AI and new technology.
The people AI startups most want but cannot hire right now—
1. Always online (aware of trends)
2. Have taste and can create (new media)
3. Understand AI and technology
4. Can execute to a high standard (doers)
So far, the industry still hasn’t come up with a suitable job title for this role. Nobody even knows what to call it, but reportedly, annual salaries have already been offered at US$5–50 million (I don’t know whether I’ve misremembered the currency).
This is a typical example of a new role created by AI and new technology.
If we tentatively divide the highly relevant roles and groups of people we can currently describe in the market into four quadrants, based on content skills and understanding of technology, it would look roughly like Figure 1. This role sits in the scarce area of the upper-right quadrant. For now, let’s call it the “target role.”
The people currently available in the market occupy the other three quadrants—
- Content creators and social media operators (upper left) have a feel for the internet, but can’t clearly explain technology and products;
- Technology evangelists and engineers (lower right) understand technology, but lack that feel for the internet. What they say is right, but nobody watches;
- Traditional PR and marketing people (lower left) are strong at execution, but aren’t “online” enough and don’t understand technology well enough.
Each has its strengths and weaknesses.
The upper right, meanwhile, is for people who have all four qualities at once. There are far too few of them.
So, which group of people in the three neighboring quadrants could move into the upper right more easily? Which path would be smoother and less difficult?
My guess is that these people are more likely to come from an AI-native generation. Growing into this role and making the move from the existing groups is extremely difficult and takes a lot of effort.
Still, I think if I had to draw a comparison, the core of the role is closer to that of the go-to-market crowd.
This reminds me of a post I shared in December 2025 with a few thoughts on AI products. One of those points was this: in the future, every AI company or AI product team will need someone with a personal brand out front who can tell stories and speak in language people understand.
That’s roughly the same idea. What I mean is that even the best products need a strong narrative for taking them to market and reaching people. When everyone’s product and technical capabilities converge, narrative ability is what wins in the end. Both product storytelling and brand storytelling are important skills.
The AI era really knows how to set us challenges. It can create new jobs and opportunities, but the cruel part is that the jobs it creates have “never existed before.” Hahahaha~
That said, this is also what makes it interesting.