The AI revolution isn’t eliminating jobs en masse—it’s rewiring what employers value, and changing the rules of who gets hired and how.
Key Points at a Glance
- Generative AI isn’t replacing all workers—but it’s reshaping job requirements fast
- Soft skills like ethical judgment and strategic thinking are in high demand
- Job candidates and employers alike are using AI to game the hiring process
- Companies lag behind in preparing their people for this new AI-enhanced reality
At the world’s biggest tech and innovation fair in Paris, a stark vision of the future of work emerged—not of robots replacing us wholesale, but of the corporate world being subtly, irreversibly transformed by AI. The prediction isn’t mass layoffs. It’s that the very DNA of what makes a good employee is mutating—and fast.
ManpowerGroup, the world’s third-largest staffing firm, used the VivaTech trade fair to showcase not just promising startups, but a future where AI “agents” might be job candidates themselves. Imagine AI bots, tailored for specific roles, competing for gigs alongside humans. It’s not science fiction anymore. One contestant was already building that exact system.
Yet, according to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Chief Innovation Officer at ManpowerGroup, the hype about AI wiping out jobs is overblown. “If history shows us one thing, it’s most of these forecasts are wrong,” he said. Still, change is undeniable—and fast-moving.
A recent report by the International Labor Organization (ILO) found that one in four jobs globally is exposed to the capabilities of generative AI. While few roles are at high risk of full automation, the ground is shifting underfoot. The rise of “agentic” AI models—those that can act semi-autonomously, even using web browsers and emails—signals a powerful new phase.
Rather than replacing workers, AI is poised to dramatically reshape what companies look for. According to Chamorro-Premuzic, as AI tools make knowledge work more efficient, humans must decide what to do with the extra time. If it’s squandered on distractions, the productivity boost evaporates.
The upside? More time for creativity and innovation. The downside? Standardized roles with less autonomy. Either way, soft skills become critical. In a new global ManpowerGroup survey, employers identified ethical judgment, customer service, team management, and strategic thinking as skills AI can’t replicate—and thus, the most valuable in this new era.
But there’s a catch: workforce training isn’t keeping up. Chamorro-Premuzic notes that while companies are investing heavily in AI tools, they’re neglecting the human side. “For every dollar you invest in technology, you need to invest eight or nine on HR, culture transformation, change management,” he argues. Without that, firms risk chasing automation at the cost of actual productivity and innovation.
The hiring game itself is evolving. AI isn’t just screening resumes—it’s now on both sides of the table. Job seekers can send out hundreds of tailor-made applications in a day, even use bots to attend interviews or cheat on assessments. Recruiters are responding in kind: two-thirds are using AI to write job descriptions and filter candidates, according to a TestGorilla survey. But few are yet using AI to actually interview applicants.
The future of hiring may lie in evaluating not just skills, which are becoming obsolete faster than ever, but potential. “I’m better off knowing that you’re hard-working, that you are curious, that you have good people skills,” says Chamorro-Premuzic. And yes, AI may help identify those traits better than a human recruiter ever could.
Far from making humans redundant, the new wave of AI is demanding that we evolve—and fast. The jobs are still there. But the rules of the game have changed.
Source: Phys.org
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