Soft skills in the spotlight for workers as AI creeps into industries

Workers need to acquire new skills to work effectively with AI. — AFP Relaxnews

The emergence of more and more elaborate artificial intelligence-based tools is rekindling the threat of machines usurping human jobs. IBM experts temper this fear in a new study, pointing out that AI and task automation will more likely favor the acquisition of new skills than the disappearance of certain professions.

In recent months, studies and projections about how AI will affect the world of work have been coming thick and fast... and drawing more or less alarmist conclusions. In a report published in March, US-based bank Goldman Sachs estimated that AI systems could replace 300 million jobs worldwide. That represents around a quarter of work activity globally.

IBM, however, is somewhat more optimistic in its new report "Augmented work for an automated, AI-driven world."* In the document, it explains that advances in artificial intelligence will not so much lead to humans competing against machines, but rather to the creation of an "augmented workforce," where "human-machine partnerships boost productivity and deliver exponential business value."

Of course the ideal incarnation of such a scenario is contingent on workers being sufficiently trained. While IBM experts maintain that human expertise will always be valued on the job market, they stress the need for the workforce to acquire additional skills to work effectively with artificial intelligence. The 3,000 business leaders they interviewed for this study estimate that 40% of their workforce will need to develop new skills over the next three years to meet the new needs for complementarity between human and machine.

Although all workers will be affected by this new division of labor between humans and robots, some jobs will be more likely to evolve than others in a context of task automation. Low-skilled jobs or those occupied by junior profiles are the most likely to be filled or modified by machines, due to their routine nature. Only 22% of business leaders surveyed by IBM believe that executive or senior management positions will be affected by the "robolution."

But what are the skills that will enable individuals in the workforce to stand out in a job market touched by automation? Those linked to specifically human talents, ie, soft skills.

IBM experts claim that good time management and the ability to prioritize tasks are among the most sought-after professional qualities of the future, followed by working as part of a team and communication skills.

Surprisingly, mastery of STEM – in other words, science, technology, engineering and mathematics – is no longer highly coveted professionally, whereas it was in 2016.*The "Augmented work for an automated, AI-driven world" report compiles data from two previous IBM studies, involving 3,000 employers in 28 countries and 21,000 workers in 22 countries. – AFP Relaxnews