How Generative AI Will Change the Future Workforce

Every revolution has its starting point.

The American Revolution famously started with the shot heard around the world. The Industrial Revolution was propelled by advancements in accessing and utilizing resources like coal and iron, which, in turn, fueled technological innovation such as the development of railways. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been slowly percolating for years. However, 2023 very well might be the year that folks remember as the era that launched the official AI revolution. The release of tools like ChatGPT shortly before the year began turned potential into reality. And the subsequent outpouring of AI investment will likely lead to even more explosive growth. 

The question on everyone’s minds is: how will this impact life as we know it? Here are a few thoughts on how AI will impact the workplace, and especially hiring habits, from an executive recruitment perspective. 

Gaining Perspective: AI Isn’t a Hero or a Villain

Let’s start by stating the quiet yet obvious truth about AI. Artificial intelligence isn’t all good or all bad. It isn’t a hero or a villain. It’s simply a technological development. As with similar advancements, it has its pros and cons—and it’s important to keep that in mind.  

Both alarmists and overly optimistic AI advocates threaten to upset the emotional stability of their enterprises. This can lead to unwise decision-making. Instead, it’s important to approach the ongoing AI revolution calmly, considering both the good and the bad.  

AI Will Shift the Job Marketplace

One area that will bring about both of these extremes is the way AI will shift the professional landscape in the coming years. As with all technological revolutions, AI will lead to a lot of shifting between occupations. 

McKinsey Global Institute points out that some jobs will be more in demand while others will be less so. This will lead to an acceleration of the already ongoing adjustment taking place across numerous individual career trajectories. 

For some perspective, there were 8.6 million occupational shifts from 2019 to 2022. Much of this was due to the pandemic, but not just because of government restrictions and quarantines. McKinsey points out that this is a trend that was set in motion by things like adapting to the shift to remote and hybrid work models.  

The research titan adds that these new developments may have been sparked by the global health crisis. However, the sudden insurgence of AI as a relevant factor across the business landscape could keep the ongoing round of professional musical chairs going for a while still.  

In fact, the site estimates that there may be an additional 12 million occupational transitions by 2030—that’s less than seven years from now. Remember, this isn’t people losing their jobs and getting hired again; it’s a willing decision to leave one field or industry to learn another in the middle of a person’s career.  

It’s a big shift and one that most people don’t engage in lightly. The increase in transitions between occupations is due to many different factors, such as federal investments and growing retirement rates.  

Nevertheless, high on the list of attributing factors is the pressure that generative AI is putting on countless jobs across the workforce. 

The ability to automate activity will erode certain jobs. More accurately, it will remove the need for humans to execute specific behaviors and tasks within each job.  

For example, manufacturing software company Katana highlights that manufacturers can already automate key functions, including processing, assembly, inspection, and inventory management. They can even outsource certain elements of production planning to AI machines. 

McKinsey is quick to point out that this doesn’t mean these jobs will be eliminated wholesale. On the contrary, in many cases, it will enhance them. However, it will also necessitate a new wave of professional learning and development for employees in manufacturing as well as countless other fields and industries. 

AI Will Spark a New Wave of Professional Learning 

AI’s complex impact on work will affect employees by creating a new demand for both on-the-job and academic training. As humans either prepare for or operate within the workforce, they will need to learn how to work alongside and utilize the AI tools at their disposal. 

The good news is that there’s no rush here. While McKinsey’s report makes the impact of the AI revolution feel imminent, the truth is that it will still be an evolving and ongoing process for decades to come.  

Speaking to Pew Research Center, Amy Webb, professor of strategic foresight at New York University and founder of the Future Today Institute, reports that “the transition through AI will last the next 50 years or more.”  

Webb adds, “As we move farther into this third era of computing, and as every single industry becomes more deeply entrenched with AI systems, we will need new hybrid-skilled knowledge workers who can operate in jobs that have never needed to exist before.” 

This is where the way companies hire and train employees becomes a central part of prolonged 21st-century success. 

AI Will Necessitate a Paradigm Shift in Hiring Habits 

Whether it’s hiring a factory worker, a warehouse floor manager, or anyone else, employers must keep this AI-driven paradigm shift in mind as they make each hire. They must resist the old habit of looking to credentials and technical training as proof of a quality worker.  

Employers must keep this AI-driven paradigm shift in mind as they make each hire.

While important to a degree, technical training becomes dated quickly, and machines will replace much of that knowledge on an ongoing basis. Instead, competencies and soft skills will become essential. Employers must look for candidates who have key inherent human attributes required to either execute work or manage a workforce with a growing mixture of human and machine solutions. 

The C-suite is where this hiring mindset will be most important. As companies seek out candidates, they must consider critical competencies for each role. Post-pandemic leaders must be adaptable, creative, customer-focused, able to communicate, and so on.  

This is where working with an experienced executive recruitment partner can make a big difference. Our team at Stanton Chase can bring the tools, techniques, and wisdom required to quickly locate and recruit leaders with the subtle yet essential skill sets required for future businesses to thrive. 

Preparing to hire in the future doesn’t have to be a pessimistic affair. Nor will it be all sunshine and roses. Wise leaders should begin to shift their mindsets, hiring habits, and overall leadership behavior in the here and now, at the beginning of the AI revolution. That way, they will be ready to take advantage of each pro and mitigate each con that comes with artificial intelligence in the coming years. 

About the Author

Rick Steel has over 40 years of experience in corporate human resources and executive search. He has extensive search experience in the recruitment of senior level to C-Suite executives across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, retail, food, consumer products, and high technology. His clients have ranged from start-up ventures to Fortune 100 companies, with a special emphasis on the functional areas of marketing, sales, human resources, manufacturing, and general management. In addition, Rick is certified in Hogan’s three core personality-based assessments.