Artificial intelligence was the topic at the SXSW tech festival in Austin. According to Ian Beacraft, artificial intelligence will massively change the world of work and take over the role of most specialists. In the future, "creative generalists" will be needed who can use artificial intelligence to apply specialist knowledge on demand in order to solve complex problems and create innovations.
Ian Beacraft is regarded as one of the leading voices in the field of AI and the future of work. In this role, he advises global companies such as Google and Nike.
AI greater threat to younger workers
In his presentation "Billion Dollar Teams: The Future of an AI Powered Workforce", Beacraft makes it clear that AI will take over the role of most specialists in the future. People who are able to evaluate, optimize and combine different AIs in order to perform certain tasks effectively will be successful in their jobs. Experience is a key success factor for this work, which is why Beacraft sees a greater risk of job loss due to AI for young employees than for older ones. Although younger employees often have more up-to-date know-how or master more modern technologies more quickly, the half-life of this knowledge will be dramatically shorter. What's more, AI will learn much of this specialized knowledge itself, meaning that it will no longer be used by humans. The advantage of older employees, on the other hand, lies in their life and professional experience. These are very valuable and cannot be compensated for so quickly by younger people.
Retaining and reactivating experience
In the work context, special skills often emerge that cannot be explained purely by knowledge or rational planning. Instead, it is the intuitive intuition and immediate decision-making ability that characterize experts. Although these so-called "tacit skills" or "implicit knowledge" are essential in everyday practice, they are often overlooked in the official assessment of qualifications. Many of these "tacit skills" are based on years of experience and expertise and are therefore primarily found in older employees.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)