As artificial intelligence gets smarter we need to become more human
Listen to this article
Read by Anchor
Recently, almost every week we hear about a new artificial intelligence tool, and every now and then a new capability emerges that can do something we thought required a human until recently
It writes, analyzes, designs, summarizes, does research, builds a presentation, and suggests solutions, and the list is growing every day
And with every new development, the question that keeps being asked is: what skills do we need to learn to remain valuable in the era of artificial intelligence
I was also asking myself the same question, do I need to learn more about scripting, automation, and all the new tools that are emerging quickly
These are all important questions
But as I continue to use artificial intelligence in my work, I started thinking that there may be a more important question we are not discussing enough
As artificial intelligence gets smarter, what human skills do we need to develop more
Artificial intelligence has changed the way I work, but it made me think about my value
In the field of learning and development, artificial intelligence can now help me with many things
It can help me review learning objectives, suggest activities, build case studies, review content, analyze feedback, and generate ideas for a complete training program in a time that would have taken me days
This is great, and I am personally one of the most enthusiastic people about using it, but the strange thing is that the more I use it, the more I appreciate the things it cannot do
When I enter a training room, for example, artificial intelligence may have helped me design the program completely, but the most important moments that happen inside the room are often not in the presentation
A participant asks a question that was not planned, another person has an experience they need to share, or a moment when I feel that people have lost focus, so I decide to stop the content and change the activity
Sometimes one question from me at the right time can open a discussion that is more important than twenty slides I had prepared
Here I understood something important
Artificial intelligence can produce content, but humans are the ones who create connection
Maybe we are focusing on the wrong skills
When we talk about the skills of the future, it is very natural that we talk about the use of artificial intelligence, data, digital skills, and other skills we will need
But in my opinion, there is another side that is just as important, the more technology improves in performing tasks, the value of human skills will increase
Real listening, empathy, curiosity, building trust, the ability to influence, understanding context, asking questions, and judging things in situations where there is no one correct answer
These skills are not new, on the contrary, we have been talking about them for years, what is new is that their value has become greater now
Because if artificial intelligence can write an excellent report in minutes, the value of the manager will not be in writing the report, but in the decision they make based on it
And if artificial intelligence can design training content, the value of the trainer will not be in the number of slides they made, but in the experience they create for people
And if it can suggest dozens of solutions to a problem, the value of humans will be in their ability to choose the most appropriate solution and understand its impact on others
Efficiency alone is no longer enough
One of the greatest benefits of artificial intelligence is that it makes us faster, and this is very important in the world of work
But there is a small danger that I have started to notice in myself sometimes, that we may become faster, but less present
Instead of thinking about a question, I may ask artificial intelligence directly, and instead of writing an idea and reviewing it, I may ask it to write it from the beginning, and instead of sitting with someone and listening to them, I may be satisfied with a summary about them, gradually, the tool that is supposed to help us think may be used to think for us
And here, for me, is the line, I want artificial intelligence to help me think better, not think for me
I want it to save me time, but I use part of the time it saves to do more human things: listen, talk to people, think, learn, and build real relationships
The future is not human versus artificial intelligence
One of the things I am not convinced about is depicting the future as a competition between humans and machines, who will win, and who will take whose place
I think the question itself is not accurate, the future, in my opinion, is closer to the idea
Human + artificial intelligence
- Artificial intelligence gives me speed, and I add context
- It gives me options, and I use judgment and experience
- It helps me analyze information, and I understand the human behind the numbers
- It produces content, and I create connection and impact
And here may be the real competitive advantage in the future: not who knows how to use the most powerful tool, but who knows how to combine the power of technology and the power of humans
As artificial intelligence gets smarter
I will definitely continue to learn about artificial intelligence, I will try new tools, learn better ways to use them, and try to understand how they can help me do my job faster and better
But at the same time, there are skills that I do not want to forget in the midst of all this development, I want to listen attentively, ask with curiosity, understand before judging, empathize, build trust, and be present with the people in front of me
Because perhaps the greatest paradox in the era of artificial intelligence is: the more technology becomes smarter, the more our humanity becomes valuable
And so, as I learn every day how to use artificial intelligence better, I try to remember something that may be more important: not just that I need to learn how to use artificial intelligence better, but also that I need to learn how to be a better human