In a recent post on X, CRED founder Kunal Shah said that AI had raised the bar of ‘deep skill’, a term that refers to the advanced, specialised skills that are in high demand due to AI’s influence, just like the internet did in the past.
It’s interesting to note how this transformation is moving faster than ever.
Defining Deep Skill
Shah is probably right when he says AI has raised the bar for deep skill. The rise of AI is making deep, specialised skills more valuable while also creating new categories of deep skills around AI technologies.
Deep skills are considered high-level capabilities that require extensive training and experience to develop. They are distinct from broad skills, which are more general and transferable across different domains.
They are often domain-specific and not easily interchangeable between industries or skill sets. For example, a C++ programmer cannot easily transition to a nanoparticle scientist role.
Need Much More Than Skill
According to a recent IBM survey, executives believe 40% of their workforce will need to reskill over the next three years due to AI and automation initiatives. “That translates to 1.4 billion of the 3.4 billion people in the global workforce, according to World Bank statistics,” the study’s authors stated.
Until about 40 years ago, it was commonly estimated that skills had a ‘half-life’ of at least ten years before needing refreshment. Today, that half-life is around four years.
So, it’s no surprise that IBM’s AI chief, Matthew Candy, stated that you may no longer need a computer science degree if you want to work in technology. Candy believes that in the age of AI, ‘soft talents’ such as creativity, problem-solving, and adaptability would be more valuable than technical ones.
AI is Reshaping the Skill Market
Those who master the art of developing workflows in which humans and AI complement each other’s capabilities will generate unmatched value.
This “symbiotic intelligence”, which is able to recognise when human intelligence supersedes AI and vice versa, has the potential to become the new standard of excellence.
Generative AI systems like language models can mimic certain aspects of human skills, but they lack true understanding and cannot fully replace human expertise and judgement.
There are also concerns that over-reliance on AI could lead to a decline in deep, hands-on practice and mastery of skills. Most jobs today are about knowing how things work in a company, i.e processes, who does what, team dynamics, past issues in emails etc. All this will go to AI.
AI as a Skill Facilitator
AI is not just a disruptor, it can also be a facilitator in skill transitions and career exploration. A pilot project by the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Unilever, Walmart, Accenture, and SkyHive, used AI to map individuals’ skills and match them to future career roles, showcasing the practical applications of AI in the job market.
The study revealed a promising aspect of AI—it can help us discover our true potential. Often, we underestimate our skill sets due to inherent bias.
However, when AI analysed the skills, the number of detected skills increased by more than three times. This means that AI can open up hitherto untapped job alternatives, offering a beacon of hope for career exploration and growth.
The study also discovered that it would only take six months to reskill people for new responsibilities in entirely different areas.
AI-powered tools can help identify individuals’ existing skills and match them to emerging job roles, enabling seamless career transitions and reskilling. It is also evident that with AI, the bar for deep skill will only increase.
