Ikigai returns as people rethink work in the age of AI

In short: A long-known Japanese idea called ikigai is getting fresh attention as people use it to think about purpose and work while AI changes many jobs.

What's going on

Ikigai roughly means “a reason for being” or “a reason to get up in the morning.” In Western self-help, it is often shown as the overlap of four things, what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.

The idea was popular in the 2000s through books and talks. Now it is being revisited because automation and generative AI (tools that can write, make images, or code from a prompt, like a fast assistant) are pushing people to question how they define a good career and even their identity.

Writers discussing work and AI are reframing ikigai as more than “find your dream job.” Instead, they describe it as an ongoing process that can change over time, like adjusting a compass as your life changes, rather than finding one perfect destination.

Some commentators tie this directly to a new workplace feeling, that AI can reduce the “I made this” satisfaction. Psychologists sometimes call this the IKEA effect, meaning people value things more when they had to build them themselves.

What to watch

As AI takes over more routine tasks, more roles may shift from doing every step to guiding the work, setting goals, and taking responsibility for the result. That could make frameworks like ikigai more common in career advice, especially for people trying to protect human parts of work such as care, relationships, judgment, and lived experience.

Source: NYTimes