Why We May Need a Broader Range of Skills to Succeed in an AI-dominated Workplace.

 by Alys Jones

With the Collins dictionary naming AI as the word of the year 2023 and Elon Musk claiming ‘there will come a point where no job is needed’, how should we think about the careers we may aspire to when the future is so uncertain, or maybe the job doesn’t exist yet? And is the pathway to our chosen careers inappropriately based solely on intellect and academic attainment for an AI-dominated workplace of the future?

Many aspects of our lives are already affected by AI. It is involved in everything from daily tasks to recent space exploration missions. We have not only accepted, but completely normalised the use of robots: in factories, in social media, in transport, in farming and across the workplace. 

After completing the Morrisby careers profiling, largely based on aptitude tests, you receive a list of future career options, based within a traditional, current framework. Generally, cognitive and reasoning tests, within school, have been the standard basis of predicting success, often confounded by your educational and life opportunities. Looking forwards, a predicted 42% of roles globally will be aided by automation. Humans will always lose to the abilities of artificial intelligence; the last time a person won against a computer in a chess tournament was on the 21st November 2005. With the concept of a ‘digital twin’, a robot performing alongside us, we could spot our future potential through the human ability to analyse, empathise and influence. 

Perhaps, in guiding future career options, we should focus on individual emotional intelligence alongside overall IQ. We are born with 86 billion brain cells which have the capacity to remodel constantly, meaning the human brain is a computer of extraordinary power. There is no limit to the human memory, we can learn and speak numerous languages and constantly adapt. With endless curiosity, time is our only limitation to constant learning. By encouraging AI to perform the tedious, repetitive tasks which have become ingrained in our everyday lives, we will have more time to develop our individual skills: collaborating, negotiating and problem solving. 

Therefore, how should we respond to career advice, so heavily focused on aptitude, without the inclusion of important social and emotional skills? With Elon Musk’s claim that we won’t need to work, we should focus on the human characteristics that separate us from artificial intelligence. When aspiring to jobs such as law or medicine, what is necessary from a human that the computer can’t do? Solving a court case requires not only an intellectual skill, but an ability to persuade and empathise. Whilst AI can analyse a scan, how does the patient receive the results without an empathetic discussion. When AI dominates so many aspects of careers, the education system and career advice should reflect a less rigid approach to access higher education. For example, with a medical degree largely requiring science subjects at A Level, when AI has this knowledge too, surely a range of subjects and skills is more valuable. The pathway to achieve particular careers remains success in subjects studied and overall knowledge but, with the rise of AI within many workplaces, the curiosity, empathy and diversity of people becomes increasingly important. Perhaps we should be less fixated on specific requirements for certain career opportunities.

So, in consideration of the huge impact artificial intelligence has on the workplace, and the threat of a life with no jobs, spotting potential for the future through careers advice needs to recognise a wider spectrum of unique human characteristics, alongside traditional intellectual requirements.