Amy Lindgren

Second Sunday Series – Editor’s Note: This is the tenth of 12 columns on AI and work, appearing the second Sunday of each month, from September through August. Last month’s column described AI issues for writers, while previous columns looked at AI tools for organizing or conducting the job search; interview prep; resumes and cover letters; best practices for companies using AI; tips for using ChatGPT; work opportunities with artificial intelligence; AI use in the hiring process; and an overview of artificial intelligence in general. 

One concern about artificial intelligence is whether using it will erode workers’ skill sets. And if so, is that just the inevitable cost of productivity gains?

It’s a topic that deserves at least a book or two for analysis. Even so, I’ll jump in with this brief look as part of my monthly Second Sunday series on AI and work.

We’ll start with the skills side of the equation. Career counselors know that skills are a foundational concept and a way of ordering everything from different kinds of jobs to the stair-stepping needed for certain career paths.

I use a stripped down definition of “skill” and rely on a few distinct categories.

• Definition: A skill is something you can do, regardless of why/how. That is, you could be self-taught, formally trained, or just talented in a specific area. But if you can do that thing, whatever it is, you have that skill. Note that this definition doesn’t describe proving the skill, but most employers will want more than just your word for it.

The categories of skills as I see them:

• Task / industry skills and knowledge — such as the skills an actuary or barber would use in their specific jobs. I’ve also seen these called “hard skills.”

• Soft skills — which include human-centered strengths, such as empathy or conflict management or leadership.

• Core skills — which I identify as the baseline skills I believe every worker needs, regardless of the job: Writing, speaking/presenting, persuading, computing, and managing. These are sometimes called universal skills, and the list might shift depending your viewpoint.

• Transferrable skills — which is really an amalgamation of all other skills. Since every skill is transferrable, the question is to what, and for what reason. Core skills are the easiest to transfer from one job or profession to another, while deep industry knowledge might be the least transferrable.

Now that we have a definition and categories of skills, what do they have to do with artificial intelligence? Just this: Skills are the building blocks for jobs. All of them. Employers may say they’re hiring you for your degrees or experience, but in truth, it’s your skills they’re after. If you remember that a skill is “something you can do,” you’ll see that employers hire you to do something, not be something. Except for situations when specific training is regulated — nursing, for example — employers are free to ignore how you got the skill they need.

They’re also free to ignore whether you’re human.

And there’s the issue in a nutshell: If employers need the skill, not the degree or even the human pulse, then what keeps them from using AI instead of a worker for any specific task? The answer: nothing, except for the limitations presented by the technology itself. For example, if AI is too expensive, too cumbersome, or simply not feasible, it won’t take over that role. Easy examples include high-touch work (nursing again) or physical roles such as most jobs in the trades.

Having posed the question earlier about whether AI erodes worker skills, I have to believe it does — because that happens with pretty much every technology. As an example, ask yourself how many people can read a map, now that they routinely get directions from GPS?

Which brings us to core skills — those that are fundamental to every job, from the trades to the C-suite, and which are highly transferrable between jobs, careers, and even self-employment. If I were going to ensure that any of my skills remained strong, I’d focus on building/rebuilding my communication skills (writing, speaking, managing, persuading) and my computing/technology skills (including use of AI tools).

These are the skills that make each person unique, but also the skills we most need in our regular lives and not just our jobs. They’re also the skills used to navigate sudden changes brought on by AI, which are certain to keep coming.

In next month’s Second Sunday column, I’ll share resources to help you maintain core skills and better navigate an increasingly AI-driven world.

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Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.

In the years leading up to the pandemic, one of the hottest trends in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame crowd was to hit the road for one final tour. But once the concert industry came roaring back to life in 2022, some of rock’s biggest names hopped on board and flipped the bird at the notion of retirement.

Back in 2023, I wrote three columns about that very trend and asked a simple question about aging rockers: What are the chances we’ll see them play the Twin Cities again?

Two years later, here’s an update on the future of six aging musical acts and whether or not another show in the metro is in the cards.

Billy Joel

Billy Joel performs at Allegiant Stadium on November 09, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Age: 76.

Last seen: Nov. 10, 2023; U.S. Bank Stadium.

The dirt: Joel hasn’t released an album of pop music since 1993, but the New York native has kept himself busy on the road. In the time since, Joel has played Twin Cities arenas and stadiums 11 times, both on his own and in joint concerts with Elton John and Stevie Nicks. In 2014, he launched a monthly residency at Madison Square Garden that ended last summer after 104 shows.

But in May, the Piano Man shocked fans when he canceled all of his upcoming concerts due to a diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus. It’s a buildup of fluid deep within the brain that can cause vomiting, vision problems, difficulty walking and memory loss or other cognitive impairment. He’s undergoing at least four months of physical therapy as he has said he’s having trouble with his hearing, vision and balance.

Will we see him again: Assuming he does recover, it won’t be surprising if he says farewell to touring, possibly with one final concert in his hometown.

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Sunday, March 5, 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Age: 75.

Last seen: March 5, 2023; Xcel Energy Center.

The dirt: In February 2023, Springsteen hit the road for his first tour with the E Street Band since 2016. The first 130 dates sold more than four million tickets and the outing was named Pollstar’s Rock Tour of the Year for 2024. I gushed about his 2023 show at the X and wrote that the “rollicking, emotionally charged, nearly three-hour concert … was as good, if not better, than any others he’s done here in the 21st century.”

But by the fall of 2023, rumors started flying that the tour would be Springsteen’s last after he postponed the rest of that year’s concerts to recover from peptic ulcer disease. Springsteen rallied, though, and resumed touring last year. In August, he told a Philadelphia crowd: “We’ve been around for 50 f—— years and we ain’t quitting! We ain’t doing no farewell tour b——-! … Farewell to what? A thousand people screaming your name? Get the hell out. I ain’t going anywhere!”

Will we see him again: Springsteen at the E Street Band are currently playing a 16-date European tour, with no other shows planned this year. He could very well launch another full band outing at some point in the future, revive his solo Broadway show or even take that on the road. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but in October, the Boss appeared on “The Graham Norton Show” and said he’ll perform live until he dies: “I am going to keep going until it’s over.”

Aerosmith

BOSTON, MA – September 8: Steven Tyler of Aerosmith pretends to smoke a joint as he performs at Fenway Park on September 8, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

Ages: Steven Tyler, 77; Joe Perry, 74; Tom Hamilton, 73; Brad Whitford, 73; Joey Kramer, 74.

Last seen: July 19, 2019; Twin Cities Summer Jam.

The dirt: The American Rolling Stones have weathered plenty in their decades together, from drug addiction to inter-band feuding. Flamboyant frontman Tyler and guitarist Perry have publicly feuded over Tyler’s stint as a judge on “American Idol” and his failed attempt to launch a solo country career with 2016’s “We’re All Somebody from Somewhere.” In 2015, band members began publicly discussing a final tour and a 2017 European outing was billed as their farewell.

In May 2023, the band announced a farewell tour that kicked off that September and included a stop at Xcel Energy Center. But three nights into the tour, the band postponed the rest of the tour to 2024 after Tyler suffered from vocal chord damage. That damage turned out to be more severe than doctors initially realized and the band announced last August they had officially retired from the road.

Will we see them again: No, although Hamilton has told reporters it’s possible the band may record new music together.

The Who

Ages: Roger Daltrey, 81; Pete Townshend, 80.

Last seen: Sept. 6, 2019; Xcel Energy Center.

The dirt: The Who famously embarked on a farewell tour in 1982, but by the end of that decade, they were already back on the road. The sole surviving members have soldiered on in the years since, despite Daltrey’s voice shrinking to a shadow of its former self. As I wrote in a 2019 review: “Daltrey once again struggled throughout the evening with his vocals noticeably diminished from 2016 (when he seemed to be rallying in what he probably believed would be his final tour). At times, he looked pained as he attempted to strangle the lyrics from his throat. Needless to say, he skipped a whole lot of notes, not to mention screams, along the way.”

In May, the Who announced their upcoming North American fall tour would be their final shows in the U.S. and Canada. The news follows an embarrassing move by Daltrey, who announced longtime drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr) would not join the tour due to his loud playing style at a Royal Albert Hall gig. Days later, Townshend said it was a miscommunication and that Starkey was still in the group. But then Townshend backtracked and said Starkey was indeed out of the band for good so he could pursue other projects. Starkey responded by confirming he was fired. Imagine that, a drummer was fired by the Who — the Who! — for being too loud. Keith Moon is spinning in his grave.

Will we see them again: There’s no Minnesota stop on the fall tour, so unless they extend it, the answer is no.

Paul Simon

Paul Simon performs onstage during the Brooks Brothers Bicentennial Celebration at Jazz At Lincoln Center on April 25, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Brooks Brothers)

Age: 83.

Last seen: April 20, 22 and 23, 2025; Orpheum Theatre.

The dirt: In 2018, Simon announced his retirement from touring with one final outing, citing time away from his family and the death of longtime guitarist Vincent Nguini as key factors. “I’ve often wondered what it would feel like to reach the point where I’d consider bringing my performing career to a natural end,” Simon said in a news release at the time. “Now I know. It feels a little unsettling, a touch exhilarating and something of a relief.”

But in 2023, Simon released his 15th album, “Seven Palms,” a single piece of continuous music in seven movements that’s intended to be listened to as one long piece. It earned Simon his 28th Grammy nomination.

Despite revealing that he has lost most of his hearing in his left ear, Simon went ahead and unretired this year. According to the news release announcing his 2025 tour, Simon “chose to perform in intimate venues where the acoustics are optimal in consideration of the severe hearing loss that he incurred over the last few years. … Together with the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss, and his own production team, Simon redesigned his entire stage set up to make performing viable.”

Will we see him again: His current outing runs through August. It remains to be seen if that will truly be the end of the road for Simon.

Bob Dylan

FILE – In this Jan. 12, 2012, file photo, Bob Dylan performs in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Age: 84.

Last seen: Oct. 25, 2017; Xcel Energy Center.

The dirt: Dylan clearly loves the road. On June 7, 1988, he started a tour that, for the most part, hasn’t stopped since. Fans and the media have dubbed it the Never Ending Tour, a term Dylan has dismissed several times. Yet he has played roughly 100 shows a year for decades now, stopping only for a few months in 1997 when he was hospitalized with a serious chest infection and then again during the pandemic.

When Dylan hit England in 2022, several critics wrote about his concerts as if his retirement was imminent. But Dylan has yet to confirm whether or not he’s on the final leg of his storied career.

Will we see him again: Dylan did play Somerset (Wis.) Amphitheater in September as part of Willie Nelson’s annual Outlaw Music Festival, which Dylan will again join this year, although the tour is hitting East Troy on the other side of Wisconsin. Dylan seemed to be trolling the metro this spring when he hit Omaha, Sioux City, Mankato, Eau Claire, Green Bay and Davenport. His current outing is now billed to run through spring 2025, so it’s possible he’ll finally hit the Cities again, but one never knows when it comes to Dylan.

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The Minnesota Supreme Court has indefinitely suspended attorney Susan Shogren Smith, who authorities say filed legal challenges in the November 2020 election without permission of the plaintiffs.

The suspension from practicing law came Thursday, on the heels of a petition for disciplinary action against Shogren Smith filed by the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility saying that she has conducted professional misconduct.

The Brooklyn Center attorney was given a $10,000 sanction in 2021 after a judge found she “bamboozled” voters into signing on as plaintiffs without their knowledge or permission to file legal challenges against the election of five congressional Democrats.

Calls to Shogren Smith on Friday were not returned.

The petition for disciplinary action noted that a three-judge panel had determined she had committed a “fraud on the court” and gave her an additional $15,000 sanction. The petition claims that Shogren Smith has failed to pay the $25,000, according to court documents.

“Respondent’s misconduct is serious,” the state Supreme Court document said, “and involved not just lack of competence and failure to communicate with clients, but dishonesty to the courts and disregard for the discipline process.”

The court documents said her actions were “not a brief lapse of judgement” but something that occurred for several years.

Shogren Smith is a member of the MN Election Integrity Team, a conservative group that sought to prevent the state from certifying its election results while President Donald Trump and his allies promoted unfounded claims of election fraud.

On Dec. 1, 2020, she filed five complaints in Ramsey County District Court, naming as defendants Secretary of State Steve Simon and the Democratic candidates who won their Congressional races.

Those legal challenges were filed in the names of 14 separate voters, at least four of whom had no idea they were participating.

“Susan Shogren Smith … perpetrated a fraud against this court and, more importantly, perpetrated a fraud against these plaintiffs,” Ramsey County Chief District Judge Leonardo Castro said at the time the first sanction was imposed.

In February of 2021, Republican activist Corinne Braun discovered her name was connected to one of the cases.

“To my horror, I saw that I had sued Steve Simon and Ilhan Omar. It was a surreal moment for me,” she said, likening the discovery to finding her car had been broken into.

Braun testified she had received an anonymous email asking to add her name to a list of disgruntled voters. She filled out the form and signed her name and then forwarded the email to about 5,000 people on her mailing list.

As Shogren Smith explained in court, what Braun had signed was an affidavit that agreed she “will be joining with other voters across Minnesota to contest Minnesota election results.”

Braun, though, said she didn’t understand the implications.

Shogren Smith acknowledged she never spoke with the plaintiffs or informed them of the outcome of the case, even when Braun and two other unwitting plaintiffs were ordered to pay $3,873 to the defendants at the conclusion of the case.

Shogren Smith said at the time, she believed someone else with the MN Election Integrity Team was having those conversations with plaintiffs.

“I absolutely believed that those conversations were happening with these plaintiffs,” she said.

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An Apple Valley woman is the 72nd person federally charged for her role in the $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson announced on Friday.

Dorothy Jean Moore, 57, of Apple Valley, was charged in a federal indictment with three counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering, Thompson said in a news release.

According to the release, Moore launched two purported federal child nutrition program sites in late 2020 under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. Moore completed and signed meal count forms, claiming to have served 1,500 meals to children each day at each of her sites, which she said she operated out of community churches.

Moore claimed and received reimbursements for those meals through the Feeding Our Future program, the release said. In addition, she said she operated a catering company called Jean’s Soul Food and claimed additional federal reimbursements for food from that company used at the other sites.

The release cited her bank records, saying they show she used “little of the reimbursement dollars she received to purchase food. Instead, Moore used those funds for other purposes, including to purchase cars and fund an enhanced lifestyle.”

She is the 72nd Minnesotan charged with defrauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s child nutrition programs during the pandemic, when regulations temporarily were loosened and a variety of businesses and nonprofits were allowed to help feed hungry kids while schools were closed. Federal prosecutors have called the scheme the nation’s largest coronavirus pandemic fraud, amounting to more than $250 million.

“This fraud is outrageous, brazen, and seemingly never-ending,” said Thompson in the release. “Stealing from a program designed to feed vulnerable children is not only criminal — it’s unconscionable,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis.

Moore made her initial appearance in U.S. District Court Friday.

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