Humanics

More jobs will be automated as artificial intelligence advances. Here’s why embracing a learning philosophy may help you stay employed.

The next wave of artificial intelligence could make the job market a little like a game of musical chairs, as new automation creates opportunities while rendering other jobs obsolete. So how do you make sure you’re still employed when the music stops?

Thriving in the age of automation is less about picking a safe job and more about constantly updating your skills, according to Northeastern University President Joseph Aoun, who wrote Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.

His approach, which he calls humanics, emphasises three areas. First, technical ability, which is understanding how machines work. Second, data discipline, which is learning how to navigate the information that's generated by these machines. And finally, the human discipline, which he defines as “what we humans can do that machines for the foreseeable future, cannot emulate”.

The good news is that many of the jobs that go will be replaced by others. Some studies even suggest there’ll be a net increase. But disruption is very likely, and it’s difficult to know which jobs are in danger. That’s why Aoun thinks a learning philosophy might be more useful. The bad news, unfortunately, is that you’ll probably be doing homework forever.

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Image credit: Piero Zagami and Michela Nicchiotti.