AI or AL - who's the winner? You choose.....

Guest blog by Adrian Evans

We constantly hear how machines will ultimately replace many of today’s professions.
For instance, a robot that will be able to scan and filter lawyers’ cases far more quickly (and cheaply!). Back-office accountancy audits will be automated and there will be no need for driving tests with the evolution of driverless cars. This one grabbed my attention… a Syrian refugee recently used a chatbot - designed by X2AI - to solve his mental health issues. You would think that therapy would be one of the most human occupations, yet this machine was able to learn and adapt.

As a career agent, this is worrying:
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1. What careers should I advise my clients to invest in to future proof themselves?
2. Will I still have a valuable contribution to make?

So, what are humans uniquely able to do?

We all enjoy and are willing to pay premium prices for the customer service at John Lewis. The in-store Apple experience moves us to pay way beyond the price of comparable technology. Whilst the products are good, it’s actually the human-to-human element that creates unique experiences. We celebrated my wife’s 40th birthday with a short-break at Claridges. Despite the hotel’s fine reputation, our room was not ready on time. Not a great start. It was their immediate and sincere response that impressed me, “Sir and Madame, we apologise allow us to provide lunch.” People buy people. Any purchase of significance starts with human trust, built on credibility. In an increasingly cynical world, a shortcut to win someone over, is to do what you say you were going to do. It ain’t rocket science!

My clients are customer-obsessed, overachievers . It’s their high set of standards that make them successful and valued. Regardless of the organisation they work for, their personal brand allows them to create trusted relationships and take revenue where they choose. In his excellent book ‘Humans are underrated’, Fortune’s Senior Editor Geoff Colvin says that empathy is our deepest human ability. He concludes:

“Staking our future to our profoundest human traits, may feel strange and risky. Fear not. When you change perspectives, and look inward rather than outward, you’ll find that what you need next has been there all along. “

How often do we choose to use empathy to build trusted relationships?  

Embrace the opportunity and own your Adaptive Learning (AL).

You probably have another 20 years to go in your career, so you can’t throw in the towel yet!  And there are positive lessons from AI - it continues to learn so, why don’t we? I urge you to back yourself. Become an adaptive learner (AL), embrace what AI can do for you rather than worry about it replacing you. Change is difficult and certainly a lot more challenging without support. I have created ‘Accelerated Career Results’, a programme designed to be the catalyst for career development. Contact me at adrian@adrianevans.co.uk to find out more.

​Contributed by Adrian Evans - Career Agent and Founder of Accelerated Career Results