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Posted 3/8/2026

The use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to do much of the routine work performed by people globally. Many are convinced that "The Great Augmentation" is already underway...Click Here.

As this unfolds, soft skills including creativity (or design), emotional intelligence, future-oriented thinking, and ethical judgment will emerge as the primary differentiators among people in the worldwide labor market. Corporations and analysts are increasingly realizing that while AI can recognize patterns in data, process data very quickly, and make predictions based on data, AI systems lack the contextual understanding, ability to make complex decisions, and ability to provide leadership consistent with the values of society - all of which are primarily the domains of human beings. 

Many multinational enterprises (MNEs), including IBM and McKinsey, now incorporate soft-skill criteria into performance measurement for senior management and innovation teams because they recognize that soft skills (i.e., creativity and empathy) are important to product development, crisis management, and strategic planning. There are many areas where AI cannot replicate the nuanced judgment of humans.

What is happening here is not just that companies value soft skills; the trend reflects a fundamental change in the employment landscape. Simply having technical knowledge and performing technical tasks does not equate to maintaining a promising career. Universities will need to redesign their curriculum to focus on developing students' skills with the use of interpersonal communication, collaborative problem solving, and ethical reasoning.

Employers value these skills just as much as a candidate's technical knowledge, so the faculty curriculum is responsive to that demand. Businesses today rely heavily on data activities as a foundation of their success; however, successful companies augment this foundation with unique human skills. For instance, there are many successful healthcare professionals whose talents are improved by having emotional intelligence and knowledge of digital tools. These talented professionals have higher levels of patient satisfaction and better patient outcomes than their counterparts. 

Health technology companies now include cultural competence and ethics of AI as part of their leadership development programs since the importance of trust and credibility is paramount for future success in both company operations and the development of the industry as a whole. Spending to develop a company's employees in human-centric areas may yield higher levels of success than competitors concerned with adaptability.

A focus on developing human skills does not detract from the utilization of AI but rather challenges the notion of how we see our relationship between AI and our ability to apply judgment through our unique human capabilities. The interaction between AI and people's ability to apply their own judgment will transform organizations and careers over the next decade and require all parties to adjust their educational practices to emphasize skills that are difficult for machines to recreate.