Rebooting Relevance: The Imperative for Human Adaptation in the Age of AI
Image generated by DALL-E3 and edited with Canva.
The revolution has begun.
The convergence of artificial intelligence, robotics, and quantum computing are changing the game and revolutionizing how we work. The speed at which these technologies are evolving makes it challenging for individuals and teams to change and adapt fast enough. Both face a choice, achieve and maintain relevance, or become obsolete.
The explosion of both AI Native companies (those built from the ground up with AI) and those looking to train people how to use these tools hasn’t reached its crescendo. New tools are appearing every day, putting to shame the rate at which the MarTech list of companies exploded. And yes, there will be consolidation
The skills of the future.
Learning to use the tools is important; however, being and maintaining relevance requires a different set of skills too many have taken for granted.
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, highlighted this by saying "The future of work is not about replacing humans with machines, but about augmenting human capabilities with AI." (1) In other words, humans must leverage their unique strengths to complement the capabilities of machines.
Getting more specific, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI said, "The most important skills in the future will be creativity, empathy, and the ability to learn quickly."
Numerous others are saying similar things because machines do not easily replicate these skills and yet they are among the most essential for humans to remain effective and valued in the workforce. Unfortunately, these are not skills many have focused on or developed - not just at work but throughout their education.
Based on our experience, a lifetime of continual learning, having worked with numerous enterprise and SMB organizations, and aligning some of the latest thinking, we have designed a hexagonal model to help individuals and teams understand the eight areas they should focus on to remain relevant in business. (We will detail the model in another post).
An example of the need.
To understand the challenge, let’s take just one of the skills, critical thinking. Having led sales, marketing, and design teams, the lack of critical thinking mastery we see is disturbing. And we are not alone in this assessment.
According to a Forbes article from January 2024, only 10% of employees possess the top 10 in-demand soft skills, including critical thinking.
A Growthspace article from February of 2024 emphasizes the importance of coaching employees in critical thinking, highlighting that only 20% of employees receive training in critical thinking.
A Harvard Business Review article notes that the increasing pace of technological innovation is creating a sense of urgency, making it challenging for employees to develop critical thinking skills.
And this is just one of the skills. Now add in the pace of innovation across AI, robotics, and quantum computing. It is not surprising that many are feeling a growing sense of confusion and anxiety about what the future holds for them.
The challenges are significant.
Individuals must navigate a rapidly changing job market, where new skills are constantly emerging, and old ones are becoming obsolete. According to a report by McKinsey, by 2030, up to 800 million jobs could be lost worldwide due to automation. (4) However, the same report suggests that up to 140 million new jobs could be created, primarily in fields related to AI, data science, and cybersecurity. What about the other 660 million jobs?
Organizations, too, face significant challenges in reinventing themselves to remain relevant. They must adapt to new business models, processes, and technologies while ensuring their workforces are AI-augmented.
As with any wave of innovation, there is a great deal of opportunity for those who are willing and able to seize it. The beauty of this one, the investment is something individuals can control.
The GPS for improvement.
We start by playing. Yes, playing. Experimenting. Just open up one of the GenAI models and start playing with it. You will quickly learn some are better at certain things than others - ironically, much like human beings.
Hold Yourself Accountable for Your Evolution: Do not expect your employers to provide the answer or the education you need. Organizations are struggling to keep up with the new technology reality.
Increase Your Self-Awareness: Be honest about your current state. Understand your current skill set, what you are good at, what you need to work on. Get outside perspectives and be open to feedback and coaching.
Adopt a Mindset of Lifelong Learning: No one person or source will have all the answers. We don’t. That is why we created this collective, a single-stop to find access to a diverse group of experts to aid in your journey.
Focus on Human Skills: Develop uniquely human skills, and adopt a model for navigating the landscape. This is why we developed the DHX Relevance Model, to serve as a map for ensuring we didn’t get lost but instead focus on the right skills such as emotional intelligence, communication, and collaboration.
Engage Your Curiosity and Creativity: Explore what is happening and how it will change the way you work. Play with things. Go where machines can’t…by re-defining the possible.
I know many struggle to wrap their heads around what is happening, how fast it is happening, and what it all means. You are not alone. We’re here to help and together, we believe we can realize a future where humans enhancing their humanness will drive a different type of future, not just in business but let’s start there.
Authored by: Chad Sanderson and Lori Kirkland - © DeepHumanX
