In that vein, he noted, 70 percent of occupations require people to think creatively.
Don’t Let The Wave Swamp You
Technology is moving so fast, Davis offered, that the big question is can people keep up w/ the accelerated pace of change?
“Every story I read assumes that human beings are standing still in the face of this change and it’s only a matter of time before the machines race ahead and that eventually we’re all automated away,” he said. “But based upon our analysis, that’s not what our data say. We found that in the past 15 years across every occupation in the country we’ve seen a 50 percent change on average in terms of the tasks done and our responsibilities at our jobs.”
To Davis’ reckoning, the change in working at more advanced tasks means more human capital and, consequently, a higher paycheck.
“When we look at occupations that way there are variations, but every single occupation has seen an increase in the amount of time spent in uniquely human work,” he said. “In my mind, this is evidence that human beings can race with machines.
“By our calculations, for the first time in human history people are spending 50 percent of their time doing uniquely human work,” he added. “I predict that at least within 10 years that percentage will be 80 percent. And that’s good news because that’s associated with higher standards of living.”
Sounds rosy, but of course some people will still get the shaft.
“We get there two ways, which incorporates some good news and bad news,” Davis explained. “Automation will reduce about 20 percent of the occupations that Vanguard looked at, and most of those jobs are outside of manufacturing.”
But Davis believes those job losses will be dwarfed by the demand for new jobs, particularly those focused on uniquely human tasks. And he posits that the three most important skills going forward will be creative intelligence, technology acumen and emotional intelligence.