For the last two years we have lived in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, both at home and at work. McKinsey Global Institute estimates that only 5 percent of jobs in the US could be fully automated, but in about 60 percent of occupations, one-third of activities can be automated (Manyika, et al, 2017). The result: AI will radically alter how work gets done and who does it.
In this era of accelerated change, the focus needs to be on the implications of automation on the nature of work, rather than the dislocation of workers. These implications include a new blended workforce of Humans and Bots, the development of uniquely human skills and the creation of new job roles in the age of artificial intelligence. For mid-life and mid-career individuals, these implications include learning new digital skills while employed, passing along institutional knowledge and working to build mentor- ing relationships with younger employees all while juggling working side-by-side with bots at work.
Humans + Bots Are the New Blended Workforce
Humans and bots will need to learn how to work as a team. Accenture research among 1,500 companies detailed in the book, Human + Machine Re-Imagining Work in the Age of AI, shows that firms achieve the most significant performance improvements when humans and machines work together (Wilson & Daugherty, 2018). DBS Bank, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, leverages a bot for recruiting, allowing the company to reduce the time to hire, increase productivity of DBS recruiters, and deliver an enhanced candidate experience. DBS recruiters work side-by-side training the bot to answer a candidate's queries so they can spend more time conducting meaningful interviews and determining who will make the best new hire.
The Future of Skills Will Combine Technical with Uniquely Human Skills
Constant upskilling of workers will be the new normal for employers and employees. McKinsey estimates that 87% of companies are either currently facing skills gaps or expect gaps to emerge in the next five years (McKinsey, 2020). While having a basic digital literacy is increasingly necessary, developing uniquely human skills will continue to be in demand. I think of these human skills as falling into the five C’s: curiosity, critical thinking, change management, creativity and collaboration (Meister, 2019).
Building these skills will augment human potential and help workers avoid becoming redundant. Mid-life, mid-career individuals are uniquely positioned to help build the uniquely human skills of their colleagues as they have had a lifetime of experience developing these skills (Staudinger, 1999).
New Job Roles Are Being Created in the Age of AI
The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs report estimates 75 million current jobs will be displaced by the shift in the division of labor between humans, machines and algorithms, but 133 million new jobs will be created (World Economic Forum, 2018). Sales- force and IBM are two companies that have already created new leadership jobs that embrace this age of AI. Salesforce announced a new role of Chief Ethical Officer focusing on the development of strategies to use AI in an ethical, responsible and humane manner (Feiner, 2018). IBM created a role of Vice President Data and AI for HR to maximize HR for speed, personalization and the delivery of an optimal employee experience (Meister, 2018). While these are senior positions, junior positions like ChatBot Coach are also being created by HR departments to train Recruiting Specialists in how to work with Chatbots to answer frequently asked questions posed by candidates and employees. And importantly, as profiled in Harvard Business Review, we are seeing new job roles being created acknowledging the increase of AI in the workplace, such as Human Bias Officer, responsible for ensuring fairness, explainability and accountability for use of AI in the workplace.
While artificial intelligence in the workplace will increase productivity and help us work smarter, it will also lead to the creation of new job roles in a workplace that is multi-generational and where augmenting human potential becomes the new normal. The combination of these three forces of change – a new blended workforce, new technical and human skills and new job roles – provides an opportunity to understand the power of how AI can complement and augment our human capabilities, not replace them.
Feiner, L. (2018, December 10). Salesforce hires its first chief ethical and humane use officer following Benioff's criticism of Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/10/salesforce-hires-its-first-chief-ethical-and-humane-use-officer.html.
Manyika, J., Lund, S., Chui, M., Bughin, J., Woetzel, J., Batra, P., Ko, R., Sanghvi, S. (2017). Jobs lost, jobs gained: Workforce transitions in a time of automation. McKinsey Global Institute. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/Future%20of%20Organizations/What%20the%20future%20of%20work
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McKinsey. Beyond Hiring, How Companies are Re-Skilling to Address Skill Gaps
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/beyond-hiring-how-companies-are-reskilling-to-address-talent-gaps
Meister, J. (2018, September 24). The Future Of Work: Three New HR Roles In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2018/09/24/the-future-of-work-three-new-hr-roles-in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence/#6f61ce674cd9.
Meister, J. (2019, March 14). The Future Of Work: Humans Gigs Robots Are The New Blended Workforce. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2019/03/14/the-future-of-work-humans-gigs-robots-are-the-new-blended-workforce/#69a72e5384c5.
Meister, J and Brown, R (August 12, 2020). 21 HR Jobs of the Future, Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2020/08/21-hr-jobs-of-the-future
Meister, Lead Faculty. 21 HR Jobs of the Future, Future Workplace Academy Online Course https://futureworkplace.com/academy/courses/21-hr-jobs/
Staudinger, U. M. (1999). “Older and Wiser? Integrating Results on the Relationship between Age and Wisdom-related Performance.” International Journal of Behavioral Development, 23(3), 641–664. https://doi.org/10.1080/016502599383739.
Wilson, H. J., & Daugherty, P. R. (2018). Human machine reimagining work in the age of AI. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.
World Economic Forum. (2018). The Future of Jobs Report 2018. Retrieved from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2018.pdf.