“Will Robots Take Our Children’s Jobs?” – a provocative headline of a New York Times article from December 2017 about the advance of artificial intelligence (AI).
But it seems to touch a nerve. A Gallup-poll1 from last year showed that about a third of the Millenial-generation is afraid to lose their jobs to AI. The take-over of machines on the job market has been going on for quite some time now – for which, in most cases, we are grateful. After all, our backs, lungs, and joints benefit from the fact that a lot of today’s industrial work is done automatically. However, thousands of jobs are lost due to this development. The Gallup-poll mentioned in earlier estimates that about 33% of current jobs will be taken over by AI in the near future. No surprise, people are wondering about the security of their employment.
Yet, there is a silver lining. According to another report (Gartner Inc.2), AI will create more jobs than it eliminates. Despite all the technological progress, there are still some areas in which AI cannot replace us (yet…). Among these are creativity, morale, and empathy. A 2012 survey questioned employers regarding their opinion about the most valuable skills employees should have. On top of the list: integrity, good communication skills, courteousness, responsibility, and interpersonal skills. What thought comes to mind when reading this list? These are all skills in which we are (so far) way ahead of AI. Thus, it is wise to train in these skills to make yourself indispensable for the future job market.
That is why soft skill training is an essential part our Trainee Program at SPECTRUM.
C-3PO: Protocol droid who appears throughout the Star Warsfilms (wikipedia)
1 https://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/211799/trends-disrupt-workplace-forever.aspx
2 https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3837763
