Artificial intelligence presents a major challenge for business leaders, requiring them to transform their workforce to maintain a competitive advantage in the new era. MIT Sloan research shows that jobs relying on uniquely human capabilities—like empathy, creativity, judgment, and hope—are more resilient to AI replacement. Companies must therefore shift their strategy to augment workers with AI rather than replace them, which involves proactively upskilling employees in these human qualities. Successfully integrating AI also requires leaders to engage with workers to design equitable implementation, make investments in data infrastructure for effective AI training, and understand the risks of relying on junior employees for technology education. Finally, organizations should use AI-driven skills inference to precisely identify and close future skills gaps across the workforce, recognizing that skills are dynamic and the organization must support a “career lattice” of varied professional growth.
