Joe Fuller on AI and Rethinking Work

Before AI took over so many conversations about work, was there a moment when you personally started seeing jobs just differently?

Yes.

I think actually in the last decade, uh, jobs have been changing at a ever-accelerating rate.

Our research shows that about a third of the skills in a job turn over every three years, and that was pre-AI.

Hmm.

And what we're, we're seeing a couple of phenomena.

One is, you know, generative AI is the next in what have been a growing number of really pretty disruptive technologies.

It, it's the headliner.

It's the one that everyone's got- gotten all excited about, and it is, it is a general purpose technology, which is the big difference from earlier versions of AI and the development of sensors and the development of computer vision and the development of voice recognition.

So, um, uh, what we've been seeing is that more and more what we think of as hard or technical skills are being disrupted or displaced or augmented by AI, and that the, the, the consequence is that job descriptions change to feature, first of all, more human skills.

Uh, ki- what we call social skills become a, a bigger percentage of the skills that are being sought because if the, if the ratio of technological skills is in, in the job descriptions is falling-

Hmm

... by definition, uh, tho- those human interpersonal skills, uh, become a bigger part of what people are looking for.

So, um, change has been a constant.

I know it's a terrible platitude, but it...

The, the acceleration of change in job requirements has, has been going on for some time.

Hmm.