Prioritising Human Skills in the Age of AI

Just like electricity didn’t take our jobs, AI and related technologies won’t either. In fact, in the same way, this tech will create more jobs than it will eliminate – about 97 million by 2025. But it doesn’t mean there won’t be a massive and fundamental shift in how we work and the roles available to people. For businesses, here’s how to change your roles to put human skills first to get the most out of your people and your AI.

What roles will AI likely replace?

In real-life use cases, AI and related tech outperform humans in any role that requires copying, pasting, typing, and transcribing. This includes medical diagnosis, accounting, speech translation, reception work, market research, data entry, customer service, assembly, packaging, proofreaders, and physical and cybersecurity.

But even in these areas, humans are still required

AI tech can only work within the parameters we set for it, so anything outside of that requires the human touch – even in the above roles. For example, customer service bots can handle all standard queries, but you’re still going to need a person to assist with issues that are more unusual, personalised, or customised. And let’s face it, every customer needs to be able to talk to a human being if they’re dealing with something complex!

That’s because AI is not real intelligence – it cannot make a judgement call, express empathy, use common sense, or be creative.

In business, even where AI is integral, the role of AI is to take on routine tasks and make data available for humans to make the right decision at the end of the day.

So, it’s up to businesses to start nurturing the skills needed to run an AI-assisted but human-first organisation.

Human skills every AI-driven organisation needs

The good news for employees and employers alike is that with AI tech taking over time-consuming routine tasks, people have a lot more time to develop new skills based on their roles and interest.

These skills should focus on:

• Creativity – Tech cannot create, invent, or innovate – and it’s up to organisations to foster this type of thinking in the workplace, as it’s key to finding new opportunities, becoming more agile, and growing.

• Critical thinking – Humans are great at making judgement calls when they have the right data, and that’s what AI delivers. Sharpen these skills to make your business and teams better at making the right decision at the right time, and solving problems through analytical skills based on facts and resources.

• Emotional intelligence – The ability to be empathetic and understand your own emotions and the emotions of others is a key skill in any area of leadership, whether you’re dealing with a team, customers, or board members. It’s how we connect with others, inspire them, and understand our customers, and AI just can’t do it. 

• Learning and curiosity – It’s only humans that can think outside the box – and now that roles have more open space due to AI tech, it’s time to get learning. Foster a culture of learning and help close the skills gaps and emerging roles that are opened in an AI-driven organisation, building a lean business. Build on people’s talents to produce your own customer insights specialists, AI product management teams, data officers, data ethics officers, AI engineers, AI-assisted technicians, trust officers, and more.

At Otto, we work with NPOS, businesses of all sizes, and organisations in all sectors to create rewarding digital change. From IT strategy consulting to customised AI-driven and automation IT systems and infrastructure maintenance, we help you drive the benefits of lean digital in a way your employees, customers, and stakeholders will love!