College students must prepare for a future where collaboration between humans and machines becomes important and common place.  Does this look like a freshly minted graduate standing next to a robot working in the healthcare industry?  Perhaps, however there is more to the future partnership the next generation workforce will consider. This guide explores the key skills and mindsets needed to succeed in an AI-driven workplace and society.

AI as the new The New Digital Literacy

Students today need more than basic computer skills on the latest laptop or on their phones– they need “AI literacy.” This doesn’t mean everyone must become a programmer or data scientist, but rather understand some core concepts such as:

• How AI systems work at a conceptual level
• The capabilities and limitations of AI technology – there is a human gap.
• Where AI excels and where human judgment remains crucial
• Ethical considerations in AI development and deployment
• How to effectively prompt and interact with AI tools

Think about it this way.  Does a student need to understand how every Tax law may or may not pertain to them once they begin earning a paycheck as a professional (Future IRS employees exempt)?  No.  However, they do need to understand some basic concepts including filing a tax return, but they do not need to be a CPA. AI will be no different in practice.  The students who have a basic construct of this new digital age will have an advantage over the students graduating as of the writing of this blog post as many curriculums are still in the process of changing

Learning to work alongside AI means understanding it as a powerful tool rather than viewing it as either a threat or a magic solution. Think of it like learning to drive – you don’t need to know how to build an engine, but you do need to understand how to operate the vehicle safely and effectively.

This begs an important scenario question.  Do students not need to know as much technical information around their coursework?  Does a future Doctor have to know everything in their medical books, memorized as they have the past 100 years?  Or will Autonomous Machines who are programmed with this data better suited to enable Doctors to focus on the human aspect of their profession leveraging a system that is not fallible?  This could upend how post-secondary education works in the future, flipping the script on how much to teach students compared to how to use communication and analytical skills to support outcomes.  Truth be told, we might not be there yet, so do not be afraid to continue seeing your primary care physician!  However, if we are in a world with human professional shortages, would AI help fill some of the gaps needed to address progress for the many?

The Human Element: Skills That AI Can’t Replace

Unique human capabilities become even more valuable with AI progress as there are many inherent skills machines can’t do.

Critical Thinking and Complex Problem-Solving

AI performs very well at processing data, identifying patterns, performing narrow AI or supervised learning alongside humans.  However, humans remain superior at things the robot armies’ people have questions about can’t do just yet.  For example,

• Dealing with ambiguity and novel situations
• Making judgment decisions based on incomplete information.  Do you move forward or stay put!
• Identifying which problems need solving and prioritizing them.  Our visual intelligence to assess the moment is far superior.

Emotional Intelligence and Empathy

As routine tasks become automated, emotional intelligence becomes increasingly crucial:

• Understanding and managing your own emotions, AI does not have a wire to your brain.
• Reading and responding to others’ emotional states.  Even dogs can sense your demeanor reading your face and eyebrows.
• Building genuine connections with friends and people you meet.  A machine can’t tell if you are throwing some body language that is positive or negative in those situations.
• Navigating complex interpersonal situations such as saying something incorrectly.  You are a parent and made a reference to your child about Santa coming soon however you just realized, they are now 12 and just threw you a glance of confusion.  Uh-oh, I think they might know he is not real!  Yikes.

Creative Thinking and Innovation

AI can generate variations on existing patterns, but humans excel at:

• Thinking “outside the box” to solve novel problems, even MacGyver could do a lot with duct tape and a hair pin!
• Understanding cultural nuances and social context which today is ever so important.  How do you teach a robot how to adapt in the middle of specific scenarios so quickly.  It takes a lot of learning.
• Creating truly original concepts and approaches especially in an entrepreneurial setting.  Who would ever think fidget spinners, Pokémon or TikTok would be things young people would want?

The Human-AI Interface: Learning to Collaborate

Some of the most crucial skill sets involves learning to work effectively with AI systems or even alongside to supervise the process:

Effective Prompting and Tool Selection

• Understanding which tasks are best suited for AI assistance.  Would it help a construction worker to use an AI Robot, to lift heavy objects on the jobsite?  Would it speed up their work, prevent injuries and maybe play music at the same time?  Well, maybe music isn’t a need.
• Learning to write clear, effective prompts to help the machine learn better.  If you are trying to help a robot learn a task, explaining to them you “lowkey” would love them to vacuum, they might start vacuuming while playing that music we mentioned above in a low-key octave.  See the point?
• Knowing when to rely on AI and when to use human judgment.  If you are trying to decide how to use AI to predict within a low standard deviation an outcome, basic on the information submitted you will have an answer very quickly.  If you are asking a machine to decide who to start in the Girls Varsity Soccer game based on last week’s performance, it might not have all the data it needs.  Injuries, who is not feeling well, which player performs better in the heat vs. the cold weather, etc.
• Finally, choosing the right AI tools for specific tasks will be important and will need human intelligence to decide.  It does not mean it will be the correct answer either, however a human will take additional soft-skill analytics and experience to provide an outcome.

Quality Control and Verification

• Fact-checking AI-generated content.  Yes, just because you are using ChatGPT, Claude etc., it does not mean it’s accurate.  Remember, machines learn from what humans set up first.  If the data entered the large language models states the sky is purple, it will tell a human when asked the sky is purple!
• Identifying potential biases in AI outputs
• Maintaining human “checking” and overseeing of AI-assisted outcomes.  If that sky is purple, do we want to fix it the answer and identify why purple was the answer?

Ethical Considerations

• Understanding privacy implications of AI systems is important.  Who are double checking employees who put sensitive information into open AI platforms?
• Recognizing potential biases and fairness issues while considering the societal impact of AI deployment.
• Making responsible choices about AI use in various situations.

Technical Skills Worth Developing to help in the AI world

While not everyone needs to become a programmer, certain technical skills become increasingly valuable and provide an advantage to students long-term.

Data Literacy

• Understanding basic statistics and data analysis from those dreaded math classes.  They will now become very handy even if you thought you would “never use them” in the real world.
• Interpreting data visualizations and reports while recognizing patterns and trends.
• Making data-driven decisions will help students triangulate the human elements affording them to make a sounder outcome.

Basic Programming Concepts

• Understanding algorithmic thinking and patterns.
• Familiarity with basic programming logic
• Knowledge of how to customize and adapt AI tools
• Ability to communicate effectively with technical teams

Soft Skills for the AI Era

The rise of AI makes certain interpersonal skills more crucial than ever:

Adaptability and Learning Agility

• Embracing continuous learning while being comfortable with rapid changes.  This AI workforce world will change faster than students’ parents first job did.  Be prepared to work with peers and seek suggestions as they will relate to your current journey.  However, parents have years of soft skill experience, especially empathy.  Don’t forget to lean on them.
• Developing resilience in the face of uncertainty and maintaining flexibility in approach and mindset

Communication and Collaboration

• Clearly expressing ideas to both humans and AI systems
• Working effectively in human-AI hybrid teams
• Facilitating communication between technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Building trust in automated systems while maintaining human connections

Practical Steps for Skill Development

To prepare for an AI-integrated future, consider:

1. Experimenting with various AI tools to understand their capabilities and limitations
2. Taking courses in both technical and human-centered subjects
3. Seeking internships or projects that involve working with AI systems
4. Developing a growth mindset and commitment to lifelong learning
5. Building a diverse skill set that combines technical and human capabilities

The most valuable skills will be those that complement AI capabilities while leveraging uniquely human strengths. Don’t hide behind your technical devices such as phones, start learning to have meaningful conversations now.  How many times has someone sent you a text or snap and you thought they were mad at you.  Tone is perceived differently a combination of technical understanding, human-centered skills, and ethical awareness, today’s college students can prepare themselves for a future where human-AI collaboration becomes the norm.

The key is to view AI not as a replacement for human capabilities, but as a powerful tool that can enhance human potential when used thoughtfully and ethically. By developing these essential skills, students can position themselves to thrive in an AI-integrated world while maintaining the human elements that make their contributions unique to the world.