AI & Critical Thinking - WEF

This article was originally published on Medium: AI & Critical Thinking — The Future of Jobs 2020 (WEF), by Rajesh Verma

Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash

The primary source of this article is The Future of Jobs Report 2020

The Future of Jobs Report provides the timely insights needed to orient labor markets and workers towards opportunity today and in the future of work. Now in its third edition (2016, 2018 & 2020), the report maps the jobs and skills of the future, tracking the pace of change and direction of travel.

The most relevant question to businesses, governments, and individuals is not to what extent automation and augmentation of human labor will affect current employment numbers, but under what conditions the global labor market can be supported towards a new equilibrium in the division of labor between human workers, robots and algorithms.

The technological disruptions which were in their infancy in previous editions of the Future of Jobs Report (2016 & 2018) are currently accelerated and amplified alongside the COVID-19 recession, as evidenced by findings from the 2020 Future of Jobs Survey.

It also aims to shed light on the pandemic-related disruptions in 2020, contextualized within a longer history of economic cycles and the expected outlook for technology adoption, jobs, and skills in the next five years.

My objective here is to provide a quick summary of the 163-page report, from a career management standpoint. The best resource for you to read is the original report.

What should I do next?

The key takeaways below answers the question we all have: “What should I do next?” so that we are ready to meet the challenges and demands of tomorrow.

Focus on core skills: Artificial Intelligence & Cloud Computing

1. Artificial intelligence is finding the broadest adaptation among the Digital Information and Communications, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Transportation industries.

2. Big data, the Internet of Things, and Non-Humanoid Robotics are seeing strong adoption in Mining and Metals.

3. The Government and the Public Sector industry show a distinctive focus on encryption.

4. The adoption of cloud computing, big data, and e-commerce remain high priorities for business leaders, following a trend established in previous years. However, there has also been a significant rise in interest in encryption, nonhumanoid robots, and artificial intelligence.

5. This report projects that in the mid-term, job destruction will most likely be offset by job growth in the ‘jobs of tomorrow’ — the surging demand for workers who can fill green economy jobs, roles at the forefront of the data and AI economy, as well as new roles in engineering, cloud computing, and product development.

Focus on the “human” advantage: Critical Thinking

1. The top skills and skill groups that employers see as rising in prominence in the lead up to 2025 include groups such as critical thinking and analysis as well as problem-solving, and skills in self-management such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance, and flexibility.

2. The tasks where humans are expected to retain their comparative advantage include managing, advising, decision-making, reasoning, communicating, and interacting.

3. The reallocation of current tasks between humans and machines is already in motion. The augmentation of work will disrupt the employment prospects of workers across a broad range of industries and geographies. New roles may emerge that are more adapted to the new division of labor between humans, machines, and algorithms.

4. This set of emerging professions also reflects the continuing importance of human interaction in the new economy, with increasing demand for care economy jobs; roles in marketing, sales, and content production; as well as roles at the forefront of people and culture.

5. In addition to skills that are directly jobs-relevant, during the COVID-19 context of 2020, an increasing emphasis within learner reskilling and upskilling efforts on personal development and self-management skills.

Bottomline

Emerging roles that will be in demand are roles such as:

Data Analysts and Scientists, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Robotics Engineers, Software and Application developers, as well as Digital Transformation Specialists.

However, job roles such as Process Automation Specialists, Information Security Analysts, and Internet of Things Specialists are newly emerging among a cohort of roles that are seeing growing demand from employers.

The emergence of these roles reflects the acceleration of automation as well as the resurgence of cybersecurity risks/jobs.

Roles that are being displaced by new technologies:

Data Entry Clerks, Administrative and Executive Secretaries, Accounting and Bookkeeping and Payroll Clerks, Accountant and Auditors, Assembly and Factory Workers, as well as Business Services and Administrative Managers.

My Two Cents

1. Anyone in the roles that will be displaced must start reskilling themselves and prepare to be relevant in the future economy.

2. If you are on neither of the lists, you must rethink your career choice. It might be a stable one today, but keep an eye on the future growth trajectory.

3. If you think you are already in one of the emerging roles, rethink. AI, ML, Cloud Computing is rapidly evolving, and you have to keep pace.