Critical thinking, communication, adaptability, and ethical reasoning could become even more valuable as AI takes on more routine tasks.
Knowing how to use AI may become a basic workplace expectation, while knowing how to question and apply its output could set workers apart.
Experts say college can help students build durable human skills that remain valuable even as technology and jobs continue to change.
Artificial intelligence is changing the way people work, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a college degree is becoming less valuable. Instead, the rise of AI may be shifting which skills employers value most.
As AI tools take on more routine tasks, workers may need to bring something technology can’t easily replicate: the ability to think critically, ask the right questions, solve complex problems, and make thoughtful decisions about how technology should be used.
ConsumerAffairs spoke with Andy Chan, vice president for innovation and career development at Wake Forest University, who explained that durable human skills can give students an advantage regardless of what they choose to study. In an increasingly AI-driven job market, knowing how to use technology is only part of the equation — knowing when, why, and whether to use it may be even more important.
Fostering ‘human’ skills
Whether you’re a recent grad just entering the job market, or a seasoned expert in your field looking for a new opportunity, Chan recommends fostering “human” skills.
The top of his list? Critical thinking.
“AI can give you answers very quickly. But it still takes a thoughtful human being to determine whether it is answering the right question, whether the answer makes sense, and what to do with it,” he said.
“I’d add communication, relationship-building, empathy, creativity, ethical reasoning, and self-awareness. And increasingly, I think adaptability, initiative, and patience are essential. Employers want people who can figure things out, work well with others, learn quickly, and actually get things done.”
While these have often been referred to as “soft skills” over the years, Chan thinks this has always been a terrible description.
“There is nothing soft about them,” he said. “In an AI-enabled workplace, they may actually be the hardest — and most valuable — skills to develop.”
Combining AI and human skills
For many college students, learning how to effectively use AI has been a big part of their college experience. But balancing that with the human skills necessary for the workforce can be challenging.
Chan advises students not to take an “either/or” approach.
“You absolutely need to learn how to use AI. But knowing how to use AI will increasingly become a basic expectation, much like knowing how to use a search engine, a spreadsheet, or a calculator,” he said.
“The differentiator will be what you bring to the technology. Can you recognize a problem worth solving? Can you ask a better question than someone else? Can you tell when the AI is wrong? Can you understand another person’s needs? Can you persuade people, build trust, make a difficult judgment call, or come up with an idea nobody else has considered?”
Chan explained that students can hone those capabilities from reading, writing, discussing difficult ideas, working with people who are different from you, trying things, making mistakes, reflecting on what happened, and having real experiences in the world.
“You can learn so much from the experience, perspective, and wisdom of elders – even those just a few years older than you,” he said. “College is an extraordinary place to develop those abilities. Students shouldn’t outsource that precious opportunity to AI.”
Taking your skills to the job market
Another factor that college students should consider is that the classroom may be the best place to start honing these skills for long-term success in the job market.
“The great advantage of developing these skills in college is that they are durable,” Chan said. “Technologies will change. Jobs will change. Some of the technical skills students are learning today will undoubtedly become obsolete — just as they have before.
“But the ability to learn, think, communicate, collaborate, exercise judgment, and adapt will grow within you throughout your career. The stronger your foundation built in college, the higher your potential trajectory will be.”
Preparing students for their futures
Though there is a great deal of fear around AI in business, schools, and society, Chan sees it as a great opportunity to develop students into more thoughtful people.
“I believe that AI is actually making a great education — and particularly the kind of broad education that develops the whole person, like we aspire to provide at Wake Forest University — more valuable, not less,” he said. “The best college education should prepare students not just for their first job, but for a lifetime of work, learning, relationships, contribution, and change.
“AI is extraordinarily good at helping us with the how. But human beings still have to wrestle with the what, the why, and the should.”