Lowe’s CEO warns AI can’t climb a ladder as company makes $250M bet on blue-collar future

While Silicon Valley spends billions trying to teach robots how to think, home improvement giant Lowe’s is putting its money on Americans who know how to build.

As artificial intelligence threatens to hollow out white-collar cubicle careers, Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison is sounding a wake-up call: AI can write your emails, but it can’t fix your roof.

"We’re a company that believes strongly in the future of AI, but in a world where administrative and analytical occupations are going to be increasingly dominated with the acceleration of AI, we think the skilled trades initiative is going to be even more important here in the near future," Ellison told Fortune.

"As powerful as AI will become, AI can’t climb a ladder to change the batteries in your smoke detector," he continued. "It can’t change your furnace filter; it can’t clean your dryer vent; it can’t repair a hole on your roof."