AE Industry Dashboard: Volume 14, Issue 2

Technology Corner

Could AI Make the Human Element More Important?

Human resources

Artificial intelligence’s breakneck growth has been matched by a proliferation of fear-inducing headlines warning that “AI is coming for your job.” But rather than AI making the human element obsolete, some studies predict that just the opposite might occur. If AI eventually levels the technological capabilities of AE firms, the human capabilities of your staff would become even more of a differentiator from the competition. “The more AI-enabled work becomes, the more important human imagination becomes,” Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report asserts. “New technologies are becoming better at replicating the functional and technical aspects of work. And yet much of the differentiation going forward will likely come from what humans do or evolve to do, not technology.”

Soft targets

According to a survey of nearly 700 global business leaders published in Business and Professional Communication Quarterly in November 2023, employers expect that AI will make them increasingly prioritize “soft skills,” particularly those related to ethics and interpersonal communication. Frequent AI users reported that integrity will become the skill most important in the AI age, followed by strategic vision, the ability to inspire others, and motivation and drive. In addition, 72% of respondents predicted that AI would make verbal communication more important, while 50% said AI would make written communication less important. 

Thinking big

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2023 report asked companies to forecast which worker skills would grow in importance by 2027. Topping the list was creative thinking, cited by 73% of respondents. Following right behind were analytical thinking (cited by 72%); curiosity and lifelong learning (cited by 67%); and resilience, flexibility, and agility (cited by 66%). All those human capabilities ranked higher than AI and big data skills, which were named by 60% of companies. 

Confidence intervals

A 2022 Deloitte global survey found that 68% of business and HR leaders were confident in their knowledge of their workers’ hard skills, but only 48% said the same about their awareness of workers’ human capabilities, such as empathy and curiosity. Firms can close this gap by collecting assessments of soft skills from peers and managers. Hiring processes should include evaluations of candidates’ curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. Firm leaders can model the importance of empathy and curiosity by consistently asking questions of and listening to employees.