Hollywood has mostly portrayed artificial intelligence as evil. Barring some cutesy movies like Wall-E, robots in the reel world are relegated to playing the antagonist out to wreak havoc against humans. These tropes are evident in films like Terminator, 2001-A Space Odyssey, Ex Machina, etc.   

While these movies give us a glimpse of what to expect from sentient AI, the plots are primarily inspired by Mark Twain's words, "don't let the facts get in the way of a good story." But we could be closer than you think. Blake Lemoine, a software engineer with Google, claimed last year that the company had inadvertently created a sentient AI chatbot called Language Model for Dialogue Applications. He claimed in interviews that he found some proof of sentience. He was let go, and claims were quickly refuted.   

There's still a long way to go before robots match fundamental human skills. That notwithstanding, in the past decade, AI and robots have waded their way into our homes and workplaces and invaded factories. Automation is predicted to displace 20 million manufacturing jobs by 2030. Globally, as of 2020, there were some 3 million operating industrial robots - a 10% increase from 2019.  

So where are the safe places? According to Zippia, having a college degree can protect you from job loss by at least 21%. Estimates show that at least 50% of the work done by those without bachelor's degrees could be automated with existing technologies.   

"Whether you are an architect, project manager, or software developer, your job is to delight your customer besides using your technical proficiency. Hybrid and WFH mandates demand collaborative work across other functional areas. These and other soft skills like communication, emotional intelligence, and empathy are abilities that AI cannot replicate and ones we must sharpen," says George Asamani, MD, Sub Saharan Africa, Project Management Institute (PMI).  

  "Hence, we call them power skills. As humans, we are (still) better than computers at many of these creative, relationship-based activities."  

PMI is the leading professional organisation for project management and the authority for a growing global community of millions of project professionals and individuals who use project management skills. 

Soft skills are an indicator of future job performance more than hard technical skills. They bring a person's instincts and passion towards work and people to the surface. A study by Deloitte states that soft skill-intensive jobs will grow 2.5X faster than other jobs, and by 2030 soft skills jobs will make up 63% of all jobs.     

Asamani adds, "There is a gap between business demand for soft skills and their presence in the workforce."   

An overwhelming majority (92%) of talent professionals and hiring managers surveyed by LinkedIn said that soft skills matter as much or more in recruitment than hard skills. Just under 90% said that bad hires were typically the ones that needed more soft skills. The research also points out that while hiring managers have specific demands for hard skills and experience, soft skills are the critical drivers for success.   

As Elon Musk and others move the needle on technological singularity, that ordinary humans will someday be overtaken by AI or cognitively enhanced biological intelligence, it has become more critical than ever to build soft skills.   

"The International Day of Education, a day to celebrate the power of education to change lives and create a just and equitable society., is also a perfect platform to advocate for training in soft skills in schools, universities, and workplaces," says Asamani.   

As AI and automation continue to advance, tasks that humans perform today will be done by machines. This means that the jobs available to humans in the future will require creativity, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence, which are difficult to automate.    

Inversely, as AI finds more applications in other industries and increasingly gets complex, there will be a demand for people who can work with and manage these systems. Soft skills like communication, teamwork, and leadership will become crucial.  

As AI and automation continue to displace jobs, PMI recommends that people master skills in Ways of Working, Power Skills, and Business Acumen to prepare for the future.    

"To beat the bots, it's time for us to revisit our humanness," concludes Asamani.