A careers expert says there are five job skills likely to remain ‘AI-proof’, arguing that their importance will only grow over the next 10 years.
As artificial intelligence continues to advance at speed, plenty of workers are asking the same question: could technology eventually take over their role?
Although experts have often focused on which jobs may be less vulnerable to automation, career specialist Benjamin Todd has instead pointed to five ‘transferable’ skills he believes will hold their value in an increasingly uncertain future.
According to Todd, some of the biggest advantages humans still have over AI are rooted in trust, judgement and emotional understanding — and those strengths may become even more sought after in the years to come.
That view has only been strengthened by recent labour-market research, with major employers and consultants continuing to predict rising demand for human-centred capabilities such as leadership, creativity, resilience, communication and analytical judgement as AI takes over more routine tasks.
He said that ‘developing trust and building authentic relationships’ remains a vital ability in the workplace.
“As it becomes easier to create large volumes of content with AI, it’s possible the value of content creation will decrease,” he said, speaking with CNBC.
Todd believes that while AI can produce material quickly, the human ability to determine what should be made — and whether it is actually good — will matter more and more.
“But the skill of figuring out what to produce in the first place will grow in importance, as will the value of having good judgement about quality.”
That remains an area where machines still struggle to match people.
“Looking ahead, while AI is getting better at certain types of social interaction, people will still want human connection and care about human-produced work,” he explained.
He also highlighted ‘acknowledging emotions and resolving conflict’ as workplace skills that are far harder for AI systems to replicate effectively.
Recent workplace reports have made similar points, suggesting that AI is not simply reducing the need for people, but changing what employers expect from them. In particular, roles that involve oversight, persuasion, decision-making and human interaction are increasingly being rewritten to require more senior-level judgement, even at entry level.
Todd said these human strengths have been in demand for years, particularly when it comes to decision-making.
“In 2017, we analyzed which skills were most commonly required in the most in-demand jobs, and found that judgement and decision-making came out on top.”
Even though AI is becoming more capable when it comes to repetitive and process-driven work, people are still the ones making the key calls.
“Every organization needs people to actually run things,” he said.
Much of the routine admin burden may now be handled by AI, but more nuanced responsibilities still rely heavily on human oversight and careful decision-making.
Todd’s view is that AI does not need to be seen purely as a threat.
“If I could highlight just one piece of advice, it would be to learn to use AI tools to do real work,” Todd admitted.
“There’s a benefit to being a human-in-the-loop who can fill in those gaps and review key decisions.”
Career experts say that approach may be the safest bet: not competing with AI at what it already does well, but combining it with the skills that still separate great workers from average ones — judgement, taste, trust, empathy and the ability to lead other people through ambiguity.