Working Strategies: Using AI while maintaining core skills

Amy Lindgren Second Sunday Series Editor s Note This is the tenth of columns on AI and work appearing the second Sunday of each month from September through August Last month s column described AI issues for writers while previous columns looked at AI tools for organizing or conducting the job search interview prep resumes and cover letters best practices for companies using AI tips for using ChatGPT work opportunities with artificial intelligence AI use in the hiring process and an overview of artificial intelligence in general One concern about artificial intelligence is whether using it will erode workers skill sets And if so is that just the inevitable cost of productivity gains It s a topic that deserves at least a book or two for analysis Even so I ll jump in with this brief look as part of my monthly Second Sunday series on AI and work We ll start with the skills side of the equation Career counselors know that skills are a foundational concept and a way of ordering everything from different kinds of jobs to the stair-stepping needed for certain career paths I use a stripped down definition of skill and rely on a inadequate distinct categories Definition A skill is something you can do regardless of why how That is you could be self-taught formally trained or just talented in a specific area But if you can do that thing whatever it is you have that skill Note that this definition doesn t describe proving the skill but majority of employers will want more than just your word for it The categories of skills as I see them Task industry skills and knowledge such as the skills an actuary or barber would use in their specific jobs I ve also seen these called hard skills Soft skills which include human-centered strengths such as empathy or conflict management or leadership Core skills which I identify as the baseline skills I believe every worker necessities regardless of the job Writing speaking presenting persuading computing and managing These are sometimes called universal skills and the list might shift depending your viewpoint Transferrable skills which is really an amalgamation of all other skills Since every skill is transferrable the question is to what and for what reason Core skills are the easiest to transfer from one job or profession to another while deep industry knowledge might be the least transferrable Now that we have a definition and categories of skills what do they have to do with artificial intelligence Just this Skills are the building blocks for jobs All of them Employers may say they re hiring you for your degrees or experience but in truth it s your skills they re after If you remember that a skill is something you can do you ll see that employers hire you to do something not be something Except for situations when specific training is regulated nursing for example employers are free to ignore how you got the skill they need They re also free to ignore whether you re human And there s the issue in a nutshell If employers need the skill not the degree or even the human pulse then what keeps them from using AI instead of a worker for any specific task The answer nothing except for the limitations presented by the equipment itself For example if AI is too expensive too cumbersome or only not feasible it won t take over that role Easy examples include high-touch work nursing again or physical roles such as preponderance jobs in the trades Having posed the question earlier about whether AI erodes worker skills I have to believe it does because that happens with pretty much every mechanism As an example ask yourself how a great number of people can read a map now that they routinely get directions from GPS Which brings us to core skills those that are fundamental to every job from the trades to the C-suite and which are highly transferrable between jobs careers and even self-employment If I were going to ensure that any of my skills remained strong I d focus on building rebuilding my communication skills writing speaking managing persuading and my computing machinery skills including use of AI tools These are the skills that make each person unique but also the skills we the greater part need in our regular lives and not just our jobs They re also the skills used to approach sudden changes brought on by AI which are certain to keep coming In next month s Second Sunday column I ll share tools to help you maintain core skills and better deal with an increasingly AI-driven world Related Articles Working Strategies Emerging the no-experience-no-job cycle part Working Strategies Developing the no-experience-no-job cycle Working Strategies tips for getting unstuck in your job search Working Strategies Making the incident for real human writers Working Strategies Communicating more powerfully at work Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St Paul She can be reached at alindgren prototypecareerservice com