Tools for Human Success in an AI-Driven Workplace

The continued spread of AI has stoked fears of catastrophic job losses in which machines and algorithms run the world, but research by Accenture paints a more encouraging picture. Many old jobs are changing and new ones are emerging in the “missing middle,” where humans and machines work together. The authors see evidence of at least eight novel skills that draw on the fusion of human and machine talent within a business process to create better outcomes than could be achieved when working independently: 1) taking back your time and doing something positive with it (with AI systems taking over many rote tasks, workers must redirect their time to more distinctly human tasks like interpersonal interactions, creativity, and decision-making; 2) anticipating unintended consequences and normalizing the use of technology and AI; 3) utilizing human judgment (AI can get many things right, but it still doesn’t know how to read situations and people well enough); 4) asking the right questions of AI; 5) helping bots help workers extend their human capabilities, business processes, and even careers; 6) understanding how machines work and learn and adapting accordingly (i.e., melding); 7) being a willing learner from AI and teacher to AI; and 8) reimagining just about everything. For years, the dream was to create an AI that could rival the intelligence of people. Today, we’re seeing that practical AI is becoming a tool to extend our own human capabilities at work.

• artificial intelligence research
• future jobs
• skills for the future
• working with AI