Redefining Skills with Artificial Intelligence  

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is projected to change how we do our work and the skills required for future jobs. Many people fear the unknown prospects of AI, with a big concern around job displacement. Clearly, AI will can displace some aspects of a job, but not all for all jobs. In fact, many project that AI will enhance the work we do.

In an attempt to assess this claim, we focused on three occupations predicted to be more likely to be affected by AI (using the probabilities Frey & Osborne calculated via machine learning - yes, we appreciate the irony): Sales, Gardening, and Bookkeeping. Using O*NET, the US government online occupational database, we assessed the job tasks, skills, and other potential shifts AI might trigger.

“This is Athena Floro’s second post focused on artificial intelligence and work. Athena is finishing her MBA at Santa Clara University and completing an independent study course with me. I’m looking forward to her next post and I hope you are as well.”
— Terri Griffith

Three Jobs AI Likely to Shift

  • Sales: Shifts in tasks and tools are likely to be heavily impacted by AI. We see the full transformation of in-store purchases to online purchases (or similar to Amazon Go’s approach), as well as how retailers communicate with customers. AI also affects how products are ordered, purchased, and delivered.  
  • Gardening: Shifts in tasks and tools have less initial impact by AI. We see little early transformation of the high dexterity aspects of the job. We see a potential change in tools that will help complete the job. There may also be shifts in how landscaping or agriculture are laid out such that AI-enabled tools have better access.
  • Bookkeeping: Shifts in tasks and tools have low to medium impact by AI. We see huge potential change in tools that will help complete the job. As more data is directly fed into bookkeeping systems, the possibility for job displacement increases if this data is used to train AI systems for advisory roles.

Analysis

While the summary above describes the impact of AI in these respective jobs, here is a table describing the jobs’ key tasks, tools, and potential shifts due to AI. Most importantly, suggestions for working with the AI, rather than racing against it. 

Summary

AI can have low, medium, or high impact on the job, skills, and tools. To stay ahead of the curve, we need to prepare our current and future workforce to align new skills with the new job requirements. This means providing skills training for the current workforce, and also, redefining educational curriculum to align with the evolution of AI.  

Athena Floro can be reached on LinkedIn, Twitter, & Facebook.