HR Dive, US: Cognizant’s Vice President and Director of the Center for the Future of Work Discusses Artificial Intelligence's Impact on the Workforce

“Employers need to appreciate that a profound change is happening right now in the types of work, and underlying skills that are needed in the new 'second machine age,” says Ben Pring. “Every organization that seeks to continue to be relevant in the future has a responsibility to help their current and future employees be equipped with the skills needed going forward.” Excerpts:

"Workplaces and jobs are changing faster than many businesses can keep up. Emerging technology opens the doors to new ways to do things better, faster and smarter. All the while, we race to keep up with what’s new, what’s coming, and what is just so yesterday.

In [a] report, 21 Jobs of the Future: a Guide to Getting - and Staying - Employed Over the Next 10 Years, the team from Cognizant reminds us that the fear of being replaced by automation is not new. But Skynet will probably not become self-aware. As tech continues to advance, they believe it will enhance the workplace, replacing repetitive tasks and jobs that are dangerous.

Yet across the wealth of jobs that will be created, they see common themes that will remain in demand, like the ability to coach others and connect people with machines. They foresee using tech to augment our work, not replace us.

There will always be things only humans can perform (at least as of today). [Ben] Pring explains: 'As our report points out, the paradox of machines doing more of the work we do today is that a lot of the work that will be left will be non-technical in nature.'"

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