Why EQ Trumps Technical Skills in the Age of AI

So the article that you mentioned, Rob, it points out something really profound that I think we should start the conversation with.

Sure.

As artificial intelligence takes over routine and even the highly technical tasks of Those kinds of tasks, the technical skills, they're just becoming commoditized.

So the real differentiator now is emotional intelligence, also known as EQ to most people listening.

The article cites research showing that required technical skills in AI exposed roles are changing at double speed, but tasks requiring empathy, judgment, and conflict resolution are growing two and a half times faster.

So are we surprised by this?

I think the only thing that's surprising is when you first say, oh, it's the AI exposed roles are changing at double speed.

That's not a surprise.

But understanding that the value that's being placed in the human skills is advancing even more quickly.

I guess that did surprise me a little bit, even though we know they're important skills, even though we know that people that have them are going to have a place in whatever business they're in.

I guess it's a little surprising.

What do you think?

I agree with you because the narrative for the last several years has been one of gloom and doom.

Everyone's going to lose their jobs.

Humans will have no meaning.

The years that those conversations were taking place, it was really hard for me to get my head around believing that, really? That's how we're going to go down? Yeah.

So I'm happy to see, and I guess I'm not surprised, but maybe relieved to see that the uniquely human skills that only we possess are being noticed as that's the competitive edge.

when you have the ability to think critically, exercise good judgment, bring context, ethical decision-making.

I mean, we could go on and on.

Resolving conflicts, building trust.

Those are things that machines can do.

They can't do any of those things.

And what organization can run without those things, I ask you?

Yeah.

No, it's a great point because really what happens here is AI delivers information and humans build alignment.