Who decides your worth as AI transforms the world of work?

CLAIM: A Book About Professional Self-Assertion in the Age of AI

Frank-Ringo Gutacker writes about work, direction, and the question of who will determine one's professional value in the future

Potsdam, June 18, 2026

The first phase of artificial intelligence was marked by wonder. People used it to write texts, generate images, compose music, and summarize presentations. It was a time of experimentation, "aha" moments, and somewhat awkward euphoria. 2026 feels different. AI is no longer just a tool people talk about. It's interfering with workflows, changing requirements, shifting responsibilities, and raising a question that goes far beyond technology: What is my work still worth if machines can do parts of it faster, cheaper, or seemingly better?

This is precisely the threshold where Frank-Ringo Gutacker's book *CLAIM* comes in. It is not just another guide to the perfect prompt, nor is it a self-help book that sells artificial intelligence as a silver bullet. CLAIM explores the human side of a technological shift: uncertainty, professional self-image, false sense of security, and the need to redefine one's own aspirations before others do. After all, the world of work doesn't start changing only when jobs are cut. It begins to change the moment companies start reevaluating tasks.

Many traditional career promises seem fragile in this situation. Hard work alone no longer automatically protects you. Experience remains valuable, but it is not always enough. Loyalty is rarely rewarded as a strategy when organizations are under pressure to improve efficiency and automate processes. The old notion that professional development comes primarily through promotions, titles, or long tenure is also becoming less reliable. Those who wait until the change is officially visible on the organizational chart are often too late. Unfortunately, the machine doesn't politely ask beforehand if it may alter one's job description. While people would rarely have done so either, at least the machine doesn't come across as hypocritical in the process.

CLAIM is a book about asserting oneself in this new reality of work. It is aimed at people who do not want to merely react when their professional field changes. It aims to provide guidance, highlight cognitive biases, and outline a structured path for employees to reassess, strengthen, and further develop their own positions. The focus is not on fear of AI, but on the question of agency: Which skills remain relevant? Which routines become dangerous? Where is new value created? And how can one define one's own professional aspirations in a way that does not remain dependent on job descriptions, supervisors, or software updates?

This topic is particularly relevant for professionals, knowledge workers, employees, the self-employed, and people going through periods of career transition. Those working in administration, IT, communications, project management, education, consulting, management, or creative professions are already experiencing how AI is changing not only individual tasks but also expectations. Speed, adaptability, sound judgment, and the ability to make sense of technical possibilities are increasingly becoming part of professional competence. CLAIM aims to address precisely this: not through panic, not through blind faith in progress, but through a sober, active assessment of the current situation.

"Many people are waiting for someone to explain to them what AI means for their profession. The problem is: when this explanation comes from above, it's often already a decision," says Frank-Ringo Gutacker. "CLAIM is a plea not to relinquish one's own professional standards--not to employers, not to trends, and certainly not to the next piece of software."

About the Author

Frank-Ringo Gutacker has been working in the IT field for many years and focuses on the impact of technological changes on work, organizations, and personal development. His perspective combines practical experience in IT, project management, and digital transformation with a clear focus on the people who must navigate these changes in their daily lives. With CLAIM, he presents a book that views the AI debate not merely as a technical issue, but as a professional and societal challenge.

Further Information

Further information about the book CLAIM is available at https://claim.calypsa.de.

Accompanying Podcast

The CLAIM podcast accompanies the book. It addresses key questions raised in the book and translates them into short, accessible audio segments: How is AI changing the world of work? Which career promises still hold true? And how can people define their own aspirations before others redefine their roles?

The podcast is available at: https://claim.calypsa.de/podcast

Frank-Ringo Gutacker
Mittelstr. 34
14467 Potsdam
Germany

https://flow.calypsa.de

Herr Frank Gutacker
+49 331 5880033
+49 331 90067953
frank@occupulse.net

Frank-Ringo Gutacker was born in East Berlin in 1974 and grew up at a time when change was not an abstract concept but a part of everyday life. The experience of a divided city, the upheaval following German reunification, and his observations of people during uncertain times continue to shape the themes he explores today: work, change, adaptation, self-assertion, and the question of how to maintain one's composure in turbulent times.

His career path has not been a straight one, which, in retrospect, is probably the best part of it. After completing an apprenticeship as a baker, he joined the Navy and spent several years at sea, including along the coasts of Europe, Canada, and the Caribbean. Later, he transitioned into IT, worked on projects, took on leadership roles in both technical and organizational settings, and gained experience at the intersection of people, systems, and the pressure to change.

Today, Frank-Ringo Gutacker works as an IT specialist at the University of Potsdam. There, he experiences firsthand every day how digital technologies are transforming work processes, shifting expectations, and demanding new skills. His perspective on artificial intelligence is therefore neither purely theoretical nor euphorically idealized. He views AI as a tool, a challenge, and an opportunity all at once. In other words, pretty much exactly what people do with almost every major invention before they find themselves wondering how they're supposed to deal with it.

With *CLAIM*, Frank-Ringo Gutacker writes for people who, in a work world shaped by AI, don't want to wait around for others to decide their worth. His goal is to provide guidance, highlight cognitive biases, and encourage readers to define their own professional aspirations in a conscious, smart, and self-determined way.

This release was published on openPR.