Artificial Intelligence-proof your career Posted on : Jun 27 - 2017

Intelligent machines are taking over thousands of jobs, and being qualified is no longer enough to keep your job. Earlier this year, consulting firm McKinsey and Co. released a study that said 51% of all jobs could be automated in the next 20 years. Even specialized professions like medicine, law and banking are feeling the heat of Artificial Intelligence (AI). A few months ago, investment bank JP Morgan made the news by introducing intelligent machines to review financial deals that once kept employees busy for thousands of hours. Diagnostics and other decision-making skills previously thought of as the exclusive preserve of human beings, will soon be better handled by machines.

But Garry Kasparov has a different take on the issue. On 11 May 1997, Russian chess grandmaster Kasparov became the first world champion to be defeated by a machine. Yet in his new book Deep Thinking: Where Artificial Intelligence Ends And Human Creativity Begins, he is optimistic about the future of people with skills even as he concedes the inevitability of intelligent machines becoming more prominent. “The sensation of being challenged, surpassed and possibly replaced by automaton, or an invisible algorithm, is becoming a standard part of our society,” he writes. So while “smarter computers are one key to success, doing a smarter job of humans and machines working together is far more important”.

Is it possible to beat this threat of being displaced? There’s ample research and books on the subject, and here are some of the things they suggest you could do to robot-proof your career.

Build empathy

Employers want people who are empathetic and collaborative, who can guide relationships and work in teams. Because empathy is something that even intelligent machines are incapable of. Recognizing the importance of this skill is Geoff Colvin in his book Humans Are Underrated : What High Achievers Know That Brilliant Machines Never Will. “The critical 21st century skill is empathy: we empathize to survive,” he says, pointing to the healthcare profession. So while machines may be superior with diagnostics, a patient still needs to have a conversation with an expert. An empathetic doctor can help the patient deal with his condition better and recover faster. This, in turn, leads to lower healthcare costs and fewer lawsuits, says Colvin. View More