Speaking on a PBS News podcast, Dave Chappelle spoke about what AI and automation mean for the next generation.

“I was talking to a friend of mine the other day, and we were laughing about how no one really would know what to teach a kid now,” Chappelle said. “What skill sets are going to matter 10 or 20 years from now as the world becomes automated and everything is just changing?”

His conclusion? Character might be the only thing left that actually matters. “We decided that your character is your destiny. If you’re a good person, that’s pretty much all you’re going to ask from anybody. And hope for the best.”

Then came the line that will likely follow him for a while. “I don’t know if anyone needs to think anymore. The machines are doing all the work for us. It’s AI. It’s quantum computing. It just seems like thinking is for poor people.” He was quick to add, “It’s a joke. By the way.” But as with most things Chappelle says, the joke and the truth were sitting in the same seat.

Underneath the humor was a genuine sense of unease. “No one reads books anymore,” he said. “It’s just so different from when I grew up.”

It’s a sentiment a lot of people are feeling right now, even if most aren’t saying it quite the way Chappelle does. As AI continues to reshape industries, creative fields, and everyday life, the questions he’s raising, about what we teach the next generation, what skills actually matter, and what it means to be human in an automated world, aren’t going away anytime soon.