The 3 skills most likely to survive AI automation

Perplexity has become one of the most important AI companies in the world, but its ambitions now stretch far beyond AI-powered search. In this episode of The Deep View Conversations, we sit down with Dmitry Shevelenko, chief business officer at Perplexity, to discuss how the company evolved from an AI answer engine into a platform for AI agents and digital coworkers. Dmitry explains why Perplexity has focused so intensely on accuracy, how AI is changing the nature of work, and why he believes the future belongs to small, highly leveraged teams. The conversation also explores Perplexity Computer, hybrid compute, the coming shift toward AI agents, and what leaders need to do to stay relevant in a world where AI increasingly performs knowledge work. Topics covered: • Why Perplexity made accuracy its defining principle • How Perplexity grew from 20 employees to 400 • The rise of AI agents and digital coworkers • Why Perplexity abandoned advertising as a core strategy • How Perplexity Computer orchestrates multiple AI models • The future of hybrid cloud and local AI computing • Why "tokenmaxxing" may not be sustainable • How AI is reshaping entry-level jobs • Why entrepreneurship may become the new career path • The three skills that will matter most in the AI era • How leaders should think about leverage and productivity • What Perplexity sees coming next in AI If you're trying to understand where AI agents are headed, how work is changing, and why Perplexity has emerged as one of the AI industry's key players, this is a conversation you won't want to miss. Subscribe to Deep View Conversations for interviews with the leaders shaping the future of AI, business, and technology. And don't forget to sign up for The Deep View daily newsletter. We don’t just cover AI, we decode it. In a world flooded with hype, we deliver sharp, no-nonsense insights to keep you ahead of the curve and help you put AI to work every day: subscribe.thedeepview.com TIMELINE 0:00 Introduction 4:25 Dmitry's path to Perplexity 6:24 How AI changes leadership and execution 10:43 The durable skills knowledge workers need in the AI era 15:39 Entry-level jobs, entrepreneurship, and young workers 19:04 Why accuracy became Perplexity's foundation 25:56 Perplexity Discover, Finance, and sparking curiosity 29:41 Enterprise, ads, trust, and digital coworkers 35:40 The rise of AI agents 39:43 Hybrid compute, privacy, and local models 41:19 Longer-horizon agents and self-improvement 42:08 Perplexity as a multi-model orchestrator 45:23 Tokenmaxxing, local models, and hybrid compute 47:04 The compute shortage and scaling AI 51:05 Smaller specialized models and latency 54:34 Maximizing time and leverage as a leader 56:13 Dmitry's recommended AI tool