AI disruption in the job market: navigating future skills and relevance
Nov 8, 2023
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Speakers discuss the impact of AI on the job market, including the importance of soft skills, opportunities for people with disabilities, and potential inequality. They also emphasize the value of distinctive human skills worth developing.
Teaching adaptability and soft skills is crucial to navigate AI disruption in the job market.
Organizations face challenges in managing the transformation required to incorporate AI and address ethical concerns.
Education needs to prioritize teaching adaptable skills to prepare the workforce for the challenges posed by AI and automation.
Deep dives
The Importance of Teaching Adaptability and Soft Skills
Teaching adaptability and soft skills such as collaborative leadership and the ability to work with diverse perspectives is crucial in the face of AI disruption. Data science is on the rise, but its definition is constantly changing, highlighting the need for adaptability. Skills such as adaptability, collaboration, and open-mindedness are becoming more valuable in the labor market, but are not adequately taught in schools or universities. Focusing on these skills can help individuals navigate the changing job market and contribute effectively to society.
Challenges in Adopting AI Technologies in the Workforce
The adoption of AI technologies in companies is mixed, with some leading organizations embracing them while others lag behind. Many organizations struggle to manage the transformation required to incorporate AI and face staff shortages and other blockages. Absorptive capacity for change in organizations is often insufficient to keep pace with the rapid advancements in technology. Additionally, there are challenges associated with the technologies themselves, such as the complexity of implementing AI and addressing ethical concerns. The workforce is moving towards digitalized flexible organizations, where core workers benefit from AI capabilities and peripheral workers provide numerical and functional flexibility.
Revolutionizing Education for the Future of Work
Education needs to adapt to prepare the workforce for the challenges posed by AI and automation. Schools and education systems should prioritize teaching skills that are uniquely human, such as social connection, flexible thinking, impulse control, self-awareness, compassion, and hope. The current education system focuses on knowledge acquisition and exams, rather than fostering skills that are relevant in the AI era. Estonia provides an example of how embracing technology and teaching adaptable skills from an early age can lead to educational success. Emphasizing creativity, critical thinking, adaptability, and collaboration can help individuals thrive in a rapidly changing job market.
The Importance of Distinctive Human Skills in the Age of AI
AI will not replace all jobs and there will be a need for distinctive human skills. Evidence suggests that by 2030, around 9% of jobs that do not exist today will emerge. Automation will primarily impact tasks within jobs rather than complete job loss. Low-skilled work will decrease, but there will still be a significant demand for such jobs. As technology advances, distinctive human skills like critical thinking, analytical skills, interpersonal skills, leading and influencing, social skills, and presentational skills will become even more valuable.
Challenges for Older Workers and the Need for Reskilling Opportunities
Older workers face challenges in the age of AI as they often lack the necessary skills and struggle to find new job opportunities. The impact of automation is greatest on older workers, emphasizing the need for reskilling and upskilling programs tailored for them. The focus should be on providing new skills that match the changing job market, rather than simply expecting them to learn coding or other technical skills. Governments should also consider safety nets and support systems for older workers transitioning into new careers.
Contributor(s): Professor Leslie Willcocks, Dr Michael Muthukrishna, Lucy Bailey, Dr Grace Lordan | The job market is in constant flux; industries change or become obsolete and new technologies emerge and disrupt. Never before has this been more salient, with the recent progress of AI. In this public event the panel will explain just how AI is now and will continue to disrupt the labour market.
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