It’s The Soft Skills Game, Not The AI Strides
By Dr Pallavi Pandey, Associate Professor, OB & HR, IFMR Graduate School of Business (GSB)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the new normal. From tools generating codes to robots assembling products, AI performs tasks that once required human intellect (Forbes, 2023). However, the question remains: will AI make human skills obsolete? The straight answer: No.
Invest in Soft Skills
As we usher in the new era of work, certain technical competencies and skills might become outdated, but soft skills such as empathy, creativity, and adaptability remain irreplaceably human. These core skills cannot be coded into an algorithm, yet they will define which students thrive and lead in the future workforce (Hara D., 2023). These skills enable us to understand complex human needs, generate innovative ideas, navigate unforeseen challenges, and foster trust. The capabilities that algorithms can mimic on the surface but never replicate in depth. Investing in these skills is investing in our irreplaceable role alongside powerful technology and contributing to collective prosperity.
In medical diagnostics, for instance, AI can now analyse scans with incredible accuracy, indicating potential tumors. However, the radiologists’ empathy guides a sensitive conversation with the anxious patient. Their creativity allows them to devise an individualised treatment plan, considering the patient’s unique circumstances, and adjust the approach when unexpected complications arise. While AI provides vital data, these soft skills transform information into healing and trust.
In other words, machines excel at pattern-based tasks but struggle with the unpredictable and deeply human aspects of work and life.
Emotional Intelligence
Empathy is the cornerstone of human connection. Professionals rely on empathy to notice others’ unspoken needs and emotional needs, something possible only because humans can genuinely feel others’ emotions. AI, by contrast, cannot truly feel anything; at best, it imitates empathetic words based on patterns in data. It shows “major gaps” when attempting empathy (Walsh R., 2024). For example, a bot might offer a clumsy apology at the wrong moment. For all its sophistication, a machine lacks the lived experience and emotional intelligence to support the subtleties of human feelings.
Consider mental health counseling; AI therapy chatbots often deliver hollow, scripted responses, whereas a human counselor can pick up meaning from a patient’s silence or tears. Empathy makes people feel heard and valued in counseling or customer service. It’s a human touch no automation can replace.
Experiences Matter
Creativity is another realm where humans hold a clear edge. AI lacks the originality that comes from human emotions and personal experiences; it can only remix existing writing patterns. Humans also make intuitive leaps and discoveries that no logic-bound algorithm would predict (for example, Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, the world’s first antibiotic). By contrast, AI sticks to its pre-set trained data; its often impressive output can feel articulate, but it poses the risk of massive failure. It struggles with the unpredictability and flexible evolution of human creativity. That’s why fields from marketing to the arts still depend on people for fresh ideas. AI is a robust tool for enhancing productivity. However, innovations come from blending human imagination with AI’s accuracy.
Leveraging AI
Hence, the future of discoveries lies not in AI superseding human imagination but in harnessing it as a powerful catalyst. Humans have the vision and contextual understanding, while AI provides unprecedented speed in execution. This combination leverages the best of both worlds.
Adaptability is crucial to thrive in a dynamic world. People can learn new skills and adjust to unforeseen challenges with flexibility built into their intelligence. AI, by contrast, is bound by its programming; it lacks common sense and creates blunders in situations for which it wasn’t trained. Consider the COVID-19 pandemic; humans swiftly reinvented teaching methods and business models virtually overnight, something no AI would do independently.
Employers today prefer adaptable and creative individuals. Research backs this up: the World Economic Forum (2023) found that jobs requiring human judgment and creativity are among the least likely to be automated. Empathy and other social skills rank among the most in-demand for the future.
Tapping on the Human Touch
Therefore, our education system must prioritise nurturing empathy, creativity, and adaptability as our competitive advantage. But today, when any student can ask an AI for instant answers, our education should move from collecting facts to building curious and resilient mindsets. The focus should shift from acquiring information to learning to think critically. That means a curriculum that encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, creative thinking, and emotional growth, not just technical knowledge.
Students learn best through experiential opportunities to practice soft skills. Schools and universities must prioritise embracing these opportunities, and policymakers can incentivise teaching these human skills. The goal is a generation of knowledgeable, technically competent workers who are emotionally intelligent and ready to adapt as technology evolves.
A Reminder
The rise of AI is a stark reminder of what only humans can do. We have the edge of having interpersonal skills, and resilience to face situations life throws our way. AI allows us to spend more time on higher-order human work, as it takes over routine tasks. In this sense, AI isn’t a replacement for human intelligence but a catalyst, freeing us to focus more on what makes us human.
Every student should know that being human is their superpower in an AI-driven world because our capacity to think and adapt will keep us relevant no matter how intelligent machines become. The future belongs to those who harness technology while embracing and learning their human qualities. Let’s nurture these qualities in every classroom and workplace.
References:
“These are the jobs that AI can’t replace”, World Economic Forum, May 17, 2023, https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/05/jobs-ai-cant-replace/
Hara, D. (2023), “Why People Skills Are Still Important In The Age Of AI”, Forbes, May 02, 2024, https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2024/05/02/why-people-skills-are-still-important-in-the-age-of-ai/
Walsh, R. (2024), “Why Soft Skills Matter More Than Ever in the Age of AI”, Growth October 10, 2024, https://www.growthoperationsfirm.com/blog/why-soft-skills-matter-more-than-ever-in-the-age-of-ai
