In a previous post, we discussed the fear of many workers of losing their jobs to automation, and we suggested that rather than focusing on specific jobs, we should look at underlying skills that are relatively immune to these impacts—like the ability to empathize, an emotional competence, required by psychotherapists.
In an article for Harvard Business Review by Adam J. Gustein and John Sviokla, the authors look at seven skills they believe will be difficult to automate. In the last post, we looked at emotional competence. Here, we look at the three Cs: communication, content, and context.
Communication
Gustein and Sviokla argue that the most basic element of communication is the ability to construct a compelling story. Being able to do so fundamentally requires an understanding of what we humans find to be compelling. Not only is this challenging at any point in time, it’s also a moving target. What’s compelling this year, or even today, may not be compelling tomorrow.
Yes, artificial intelligence (AI) like Alexa, Siri, and others can simulate communication with people, but that communication is more transactional than relational, at least today. AI can even be used, and increasingly is, to write copy for financial reports, sports reports, and other fairly objective applications. But, AI can’t yet construct the types of compelling stories that human beings can.
Content
“Of course, communication must be about a particular topic,” write Gustein and Sviokla. “And if you know a great deal about a given domain, you have a rich base on which to draw.” Of course, it’s relatively easy to automate knowledge, but it’s the ability to understand the overall dynamics of a given domain and create relevant and new information that sets us apart from the machines.
Thought leaders, business professionals, and analysts remain relevant because of their uniquely human ability to synthesize and make sense of content they may be drawing from multiple channels, including their own past—and very human—experiences.
Context
Gustein and Sviokla note that automated systems are typically pretty bad at recognizing context. And in a dynamic, complex environment like, say, global business, context is extremely important. At least for now, AI and automated processes simply can’t keep up with humans when making complex choices in the context of the real world.
They offer an example to illustrate involving a consultant who works with two very different clients—understanding those differences, in context, is required to meet client needs. Humans can do that. AI, for now, can’t.
So far, we’ve discussed four skills Harvard Business Review writers Adam J. Gustein and John Sviokla believe will be difficult to automate. In our final post on this topic, we’ll look at the last three.