AI and the Value of Skills

The way we value skills is imbalanced, and Artificial Intelligence can help us fix it. 

When you think the most valuable skills, what comes to mind? Did you think about doctors, lawyers, scientists, or engineers? These jobs rely on skills and technical knowledge that often require years of training. People in these roles learn every detail of how systems work, so that they can solve complex problems based on their knowledge. This value system, which many of us grew up with, made sense for that era. But now, AI is passing the bar. It’s reading x-rays and seeing patterns in diagnosis. It’s writing code. It’s learning about gene sequences and then applying this knowledge immediately on the other side of the world. It can learn and share knowledge faster than we ever could, and it’s just getting started. 

This doesn’t mean that these roles aren’t valuable anymore. They are. We don’t want a machine telling us there’s a 90% chance that the dark spot in the x-ray is cancer. AI can’t give us assurance as we navigate an emotionally charged legal proceeding. It can’t tell us how to inspire creativity and find moments of joy to bring into the user experience. These are the “human skills” that have been traditionally undervalued.

You may have heard the terms “hard skills” and “soft skills” before, but let’s take a moment to define them.

“Hard Skills,” also known as “technical skills,” are skills that require specialized knowledge and training like law, accounting, and programming. We often learn these skills through traditional training methods like memorization and they are easier to test and measure.

ChatGPT included even included this in its definition of “hard skills": "Employers place a high value on hard skills, particularly in fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), healthcare, and finance, where technical proficiency is crucial to success. Developing hard skills can also lead to higher salaries and greater job security, as they are often in high demand."

“Soft skills” are the ones that I am referring to as “human skills.” These skills are more innate, and we often learn them through non-traditional learning methods. We develop collaboration, empathy, listening, and leadership skills through our human experiences. We learn these from our parents, our peers, our mentors. These are the skills we’ve undervalued.

So what does this mean for the future of work? 

Let’s imagine a programmer working on developing software. Last year, they spent most of their time writing code and debugging the software. They were spending their nights and weekends writing and editing code to adjust to a new API update. They didn’t have time to review user feedback or attend meetings with the analytics team. The programmer didn’t spend their year making the software better, they were just keeping it up to date. 

This year, they started using AI to write these adjustments to the code. What used to take 20 hours, now takes two. The programmer can now attend those meetings with the analytics team. They're spending time reviewing user feedback and notice that most of the complaints are about one step in the user experience, an unwieldly process that’s causing a bottleneck. They find a creative way to adjust the software so that the problematic step is no longer necessary. This same programmer, who was just keeping things afloat, now has the creative bandwidth to streamline the process for the end user, and the average user review increases significantly.

We need to recognize the value of our human skills, and reward them.   

The skills that make us human are the ones that we need most. Leveraging AI for technical knowledge frees us to focus on the high-level thought, care, and teamwork that we need more time for. Our creativity, innovation, and empathy make us human. We value these innately, but not economically. It’s time to change that. These “human skills” are the most valuable skills for our AI-augmented future.

 For organizations, this means reprioritizing when hiring and investing in development of these “soft skills” or “human skills.” Consider training programs that focus on a growth mindset, teamwork, and leadership. In 2020, the World Economic Forum predicted the top skills of 2025 would involve problem-solving, self-management, working with people, and technology use and development. Most of these are categorized as “human skills.” Their prediction has proven true. We’re seeing the demand for these skills expand each day.

For individuals, this change means we should take a thoughtful look at our roles and consider: What do you wish you had more time for? What increases the quality of what you're building? With AI, much of the rote parts of your job could be replaced. You have the potential to spend more time looking the big picture and making more strategic investments. Ask yourself, what would inspire more joy or creativity for the end user?

Let me know what you think. What time-consuming aspects of your job could be replaced by AI? What skills can you build for an AI-augmented future?