I haven’t defined specific timeframes for these shifts, but the further you go down the list, the further down the line I anticipate these trends playing out…
As AI powers more and more of the labour market, demand for generalist talent will increase. Historically, labour-saving technology has reduced the demand for undifferentiated labour (meaning that today, we need way fewer factory-line workers who repeat the same specialised task again and again, because machines do it for us). I predict that the AI revolution will reduce demand for specialised talent and increase demand for generalist problem solvers whose skills are augmented by AI. Since our labour market is built for specialists, we need more reliable solutions to help employers find and hire generalist talent, such as Generalist World.
As more teams take advantage of accessible AI upskilling programmes like 100DaysOfAI, we will see more centaur teams. Centaur teams are those which combine the computational power and speed of AI with the natural intuition of a human. As more rote, specialised tasks are outsourced to the AI in these centaur teams, we will see a rise in upskilling programmes focused on teaching people timeless vs time-bound skills that equip them with the agility and adaptability to thrive in an uncertain future.
The base level of quality expected for any task or job will inflate due to mainstream use of AI. This will require people to become lifelong learners and adapt fast to emerging technologies and trends. As a result, there will be a power shift away from traditional higher education institutions that can’t adapt fast enough and fewer employers will require degrees for entry level jobs. Nimble challenger universities that equip young people with timeless problem solving and critical thinking skills like the London Interdisciplinary School will thrive.
Over time, automation gains from AI will lead to job displacement and more humans stepping into “oversight” roles. Job titles like “Algorithm Bias Auditor“, “AI Ethics Compliance Manager”, “AI Integration Specialist” and “Human-AI Interaction Designer” will become more commonplace.
As AI starts doing more specific tasks and projects, the scope of those tasks and projects will become more defined. To keep teams lean and minimise costs, companies will start leveraging independent workers much more. In turn, we will start transitioning from a job-based economy to a project-based economy. This will prompt the rise of a new wave of AI-driven gig-economy type platforms. In such a dynamic workforce, people will find novel ways of collaborating with each other, beyond the confines of corporate bureaucracy.
In The Future of Collaboration Looks Like Lego, I wrote about how trust in the stability and security promised by the corporate world is disintegrating. This disintegration of trust, coupled with a lack of foresight into the jobs that will exist in the future, will mean that more young people will take their career into their own hands, enticed by the ironic security of creating a portfolio of revenue streams. Portfolio careers and solopreneurship will become normalised for a generation of workers who desire flexibility, impact and autonomy. We will see a rise in educational programmes that equip young people and career switchers with the skills they need to build these non-traditional careers.
AI may create a future of hyper-abundance, leading to a surplus of cognitive labour and dramatically reducing the need for human work. This will ultimately lead to a post-labour economic future.
There will be a “great reshuffling” from traditional roles to more human-centric roles that are focused on the things humans are uniquely capable of, such as creative endeavours and relationship management. Many things we would never have considered work 15 years ago, like interviewing someone on a podcast, will provide a living for an increasing number of people. The line between work and play will blur.
The industries that will thrive in this post-labour economic future will be those that advanced AI and automation will rely on, such as semiconductor production, robotics, sustainable tech and energy. Human experience industries will grow tremendously as humans have more time to engage in meaningful leisure activities, related to culture, community, creativity and expression.
In light of traditional capitalism no longer being able to promise stability and certainty, a silent new economic “deal” will be struck that will give people the freedom to discover what work and leisure means to them. “Meaning” will take on a new meaning, divorced from labour and work. As people exercise more agency over the direction of their careers and engage in more human-centric activities, we will find new ways to define our identities.
