A top skill everyone will need in an AI-powered enterprise
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As employees and business teams rely on and collaborate with AI to get work done, this raises some big questions—and not just the question of job displacement.?
What essential skills will workers need (and no longer need) as AI handles more of their workloads? Matt Beane, a professor of technology management at UC Santa Barbara and author of the new book “The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines,” studies how automation, robotics, and AI are changing people.?
In his latest research, Beane challenges conventional wisdom about job skills and identifies what he considers a new meta-skill for employees in the age of generative AI: interactional expertise.
As Beane describes, interactional expertise is the ability to tap AI’s vast knowledge base and quickly become conversant in a new business function. In a recent interview with The Works, Beane explained why this ability is so valuable and how employers can start to recruit for it.
One key insight behind this: Interactional expertise isn’t a vocational skill, such as prompt engineering. It’s the ability to become a more powerful generalist, regardless of business function.
As Beane explains:
"Anybody who says they know one particular skill that you need to learn in order to function well in an AI-suffused world is deeply deluded. Things are changing way too fast for that.
"If you spent money on a course on prompt engineering last year, that was worth it for maybe six months. Now systems are going to handle prompting in a way that makes that skill far less relevant. But interactional expertise? That’s going to become exponentially more important as we collaborate more and more across boundaries."
Check out the full interview on The Works.?
Josh Bersin: Get ready for the rise of AI agents
One of the leading minds on the future of work, Josh Bersin, sat down with The Works to talk about the rise of AI agents, the most powerful use cases in different business functions, and the challenges and opportunities AI agents will bring.
“I think we're going to see them everywhere,” says Bersin. “Customer service is a big one. Right now, agents are mostly automating tasks like sending emails or scheduling meetings, but they're evolving into what I’d call digital employees.”
Check out the full interview.
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Digital Content Strategist at Bridge Global
5 天前A very insightful piece. Traditionally, meaningful contributions to a specialized domain required deep technical expertise. However, glad to know that the bar is shifting. Being able to "get the basics" and engage effectively, whether with human experts or AI systems, is becoming the new standard for participation. This shift underscores the democratization of knowledge and the importance of communication skills in the AI-driven era. Glad I read it :-)
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6 天前Very helpful! Let's discuss on my show sometime
AI-Powered Chatbot & CRM Automation Specialist | I help small to mid-sized businesses streamline customer support and automate CRM processes for improved efficiency | Freshworks, Zendesk, Intercom, ManyChat & other CRMs
6 天前This is such an intriguing perspective, especially the emphasis on interactional expertise as a meta-skill in the age of AI. It's fascinating to think about how becoming a "powerful generalist" could redefine career growth and adaptability in a rapidly evolving workplace. I wonder how companies can effectively balance recruiting for this skill while still fostering deep specialization where needed. Perhaps a hybrid approach, where employees are encouraged to develop both interactional expertise and domain-specific skills, could be the key to staying competitive and innovative.
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6 天前Emotional intelligence will be vital in an AI-powered workplace. While AI can handle data and automation, it’s human connection, empathy, and understanding that will drive team cohesion, customer relationships, and leadership in this new landscape.