Despite AI Advancements, Future Work is Human Work

By Jamie Merisotis?

Apocalypse or salvation? Takeover or collaboration? Robots versus humans, or everyone working together, hand in cybernetic hand? Messages about?artificial intelligence?are mixed. One day there's an article about the strides AI is making with cancer diagnoses; the next day, an equally persuasive essay questions whether AI?magnifies?health disparities. Recent headlines have highlighted news about racist AI machines at Google, AI-powered systems that can debate humans, and the?booming?cybersecurity market. The sheer quantity of AI coverage leaves many wondering what humans’ place?will be in an increasingly high-tech world. ?

AI was?certainly?part of our lives before the pandemic, but over the last 18 months, technology in tandem with COVID-19 allowed us to innovate in ways that seemed endless—while at the same time rendering at least some aspects of some of our institutions archaic. This doesn’t mean AI will take over; there will always be?work that?only?humans can do. Technology will in fact create a lot more of that work, and higher education must do all it can to prepare people for this new world, even as it deals with the continuing challenges of the pandemic and works to foster racial and social equity.

In human work, skills and knowledge still matter, but people need to be able to apply them to solve problems in ever-changing environments. As AI-enhanced technology extends its reach in fields such as health care, education, retail, and hospitality, people are needed more than ever to focus on the human element. Much of the work of the future involves helping and serving others—while?using?technology to understand and help solve people’s problems.

While we don’t know exactly what the future looks like, we can hypothesize and prepare for tasks the jobs of the future will demand. The new occupations of human work will?largely fit in?four categories: helpers, bridgers, integrators, and creators. In?each category, people will need to think critically, reason ethically, interact personally, and serve others with empathy.

How many times have you bypassed an automated service (“Press the number one for information on your account”) and requested “an actual person?" Helpers are?the ones who provide?this kind of customer support, engaging in deep, interpersonal interaction with others to solve problems. Bridgers form a connection between technology and humanity by?using?both types of experience to ensure that the two aspects of the workforce work?together?intuitively.?Good managers and supervisors are bridgers—as are?IT?team leaders and?help desk?staff.

Integrators use their knowledge and skills to help others in a personal way—think educators and psychologists, for example. Creators?are?artists and musicians, of course,?as?are?purely physical?types?such as dancers and athletes. But they?can also be people who?combine technical skills with their creative output (video game?designers?are?a good?example). ?

If we keep these?four categories?in mind,?we needn’t?predict?the?precise jobs within them.?Instead, we need to ensure that people have the opportunity to keep learning throughout their lives.?The idea that one can go to college, get a degree, and then go to work and keep up through experience and occasional?on-the-job?training has been obsolete for a long time. Yet this is how most of higher education?still works.

“Student” and “worker” are not two different kinds of people. In most cases, people now in college play both roles at the same time. It’s not just that higher education doesn’t accommodate working students; it’s that colleges and universities seldom capitalize on the rich opportunities for learning that work provides. In today’s economy, learning and work happen together. Both are necessary throughout life, and?both?must be made available to?everyone. ?

All of this represents a big challenge for higher education, but none of it is insurmountable. Indeed, many colleges and universities—of all types—already do these things to assure the success of students and workers. These practices must become the norm, and that requires structural and systemic change.

There is no reason to imagine an apocalyptic, tech-laden future landscape in which robots rule and humans exist idly and without purpose. Yes, people will need new skills, new ways of engaging with their communities, and new ways of relating to one another. But by understanding that the workforce is ever-changing, we will be able to adapt to it on a continuous basis. After all, adapting, changing, evolving—that's what humans do. Not everything can be automated away.?

Jamie Merisotis is president and CEO of Lumina Foundation and the author of?Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines. ?

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