What Do Consultants Do in the AI Age? New Book 'Messy Jobs' Defends Their Irreplaceable Role
soumitrashukla9 · x · 2026-07-30
Luis Garicano published an article on Silicon Continent defending the work of consultants in the AI age. He recounts a case where a consulting team redesigned a large airline's loyalty program: analysis took two weeks, but months later the program still hasn't launched. The real task is not solving an analytical case but getting parties to agree and commit. Based on the new book 'Messy Jobs: The Work That AI Cannot Reach,' the authors argue that jobs are bundles of tasks and organizational positions, not independent tasks. Automating clean parts may not eliminate the job because remaining activities are tightly bundled. The article addresses two criticisms: AI's advancing capabilities (memory, tools, multimodality) may soon handle interpersonal parts, and the book may just describe a temporary state.
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