Human-AI Collaboration Skills Key to the Future of Work

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the job market at lightning speed. According to the World Economic Forum, AI is projected to create 97 million new jobs. And these new jobs aren’t just plentiful. They’re rewarding. The median salary for AI jobs in April 2024 was $160,056, up from $144,986 in the previous year.

AI won’t replace you, but someone skilled in working with AI could gain a competitive edge. That’s why developing the right skills to collaborate with AI is more critical than ever. To help you stay ahead of the curve, we’ve curated this list of the top 10 human-AI collaboration skills you need to thrive in the workplace.

These skills will help you develop effective human-AI partnerships. By understanding AI, its role in the workforce, and the skills needed for success, you can prepare for the days and years ahead.

The benefits of human-AI collaboration in the workplace

But before we explore the skills of the future, it’s important to understand why the ability to work effectively with AI matters so much.

AI can make work faster and more efficient in areas like sales, service, marketing, inventory management, and factory operations. In fact, sectors exposed to AI are experiencing almost 5 times higher growth in labor productivity. 

The future of work is changing, but it doesn’t mean humans are fully replaceable. George Hanson, the Chief Digital Officer at Mattress Firm, put it this way during an interview on Experts of Experience, “The value I see in AI is as an aid to humans, as opposed to replacement of humans.”

AI is revolutionizing the way we work by enhancing efficiency, increasing productivity, and uncovering insights that might otherwise go unnoticed. However, behind every AI success story lies human effort and ingenuity. While AI tools can augment ‌ — ‌ and sometimes even replace ‌ — ‌ certain tasks, the real magic happens with human guidance. It’s people who train these systems, collaborate with them, interpret their outputs, and ultimately make the final decisions. At its core, workplaces still rely on human judgment, creativity, and the unique perspectives only we can bring.

What this means for you is there’s a massive opportunity to stand out, enhance your skills, and drive exceptional results. By fostering a collaborative relationship with AI, you can combine your unique strengths with the capabilities of the technology to achieve remarkable outcomes. 

Top 10 collaborative skills for human-AI teams 

Below are the most important technical, analytical, and soft skills needed for the jobs of the future. Keep ahead in the changing job landscape by adopting these skills. You’ll also be able to boost your team’s productivity and elevate your career to new heights.

Skill 1: Understanding Generative AI

Develop a foundational grasp of generative AI—how it works, its capabilities, and its limitations. You don’t need to be a programmer, but knowing the basics is essential for effective collaboration. Focus on these key areas:

• Large Language Models (LLMs): These models, like ChatGPT, excel at creating text, summarizing content, drafting emails, and answering questions.
• Machine learning systems: Perfect for analyzing large datasets, making predictions, or finding patterns, like forecasting customer demand or personalizing recommendations.
• Limitations and Ethical Use: Understand the boundaries of generative AI, including biases, data privacy concerns, and when human oversight is critical.

Skill 2: Prompt engineering

Think of prompt engineering as having a conversation with the AI‌. ‌It’s all about asking the right questions in the right way. AI systems work best when given clear instructions. Plus, you’ll get trusted results with accurate, relevant prompts grounded in your own data. Learn how to define exactly what you need, provide context, set boundaries, or use examples. Only then can you ensure the AI delivers useful and accurate outputs for your tasks. 

Skill 3: Familiarity with AI tools and platforms

Competence with popular AI platforms and tools is important. Staying up-to-date with new AI technologies helps you adapt quickly and improve your use of AI systems. Keep a close eye on AI developments in your industry. Subscribe to relevant publications, attend conferences, and follow thought leaders in the AI space.

Skill 4: Judging the credibility of an answer

AI-generated insights can’t always be trusted at face value. It can sometimes generate information that sounds convincing, but isn’t entirely accurate. That’s why important to learn how to assess their relevance and accuracy and identify potential biases. Think of yourself as a fact-checker for your AI assistant. It’s crucial to evaluate its responses critically, verify facts, and stay aware of possible inaccuracies. By taking an active role in validating AI-generated insights, you can make more confident, informed decisions.

Skill 5: Knowing what problem to solve 

AI isn’t the answer to every challenge‌ — ‌you must know when to use it. AI shines with repetitive, time-consuming, or data-heavy tasks, helping you work faster and smarter. But for creative thinking or complex decisions, people are still the experts. When you understand what AI is good at (and what it’s not), you can let it take care of the busy work, giving your team more time to focus on higher-level work.

Skill 6: Data literacy

Being data-literate simply means understanding the basics of how data is structured and how it’s used. AI systems rely heavily on data for training, analysis, and decision-making, so understanding how data works is crucial to use and interpret AI outputs. You should be familiar with:

• Different types of data: Learn the difference between structured and unstructured data. Think neatly organized rows in a spreadsheet versus a collection of customer reviews or social media posts.
• Data-gathering methods: From surveys to web scraping, knowing how data is collected helps you gauge its reliability and relevance.
• Data interpretation techniques: Spotting trends, comparing metrics, and asking questions like, “What story is this data trying to tell?”

Skill 7: Adaptation and flexibility

AI is always evolving, so you need to be flexible and continuously upskill yourself to keep pace with technological advancements. Developing a growth mindset and embracing lifelong learning is key. 

Invest in your own learning by following thought leaders, keeping up on trends, and exploring training programs that help you develop the skills needed to work effectively with AI. Platforms like Trailhead offer a fun and engaging way to upskill, with an extensive library of AI-powered learning tools to get you started.

Skill 8: AI translation

Insights are useless if they can’t be shared. A critical skill is distilling AI-driven information into clear, actionable takeaways that customers and partners can easily understand. Mastering the art of translating AI outputs will significantly boost your value and ability to help your organization embrace AI.

Skill 9: Curiosity and experimentation

While AI excels at automation and supporting roles, uniquely human skills like creativity remain indispensable. Cultivate a mindset of curiosity‌ — ‌questioning assumptions, exploring why things are done a certain way, considering whether systems can be improved, and thinking creatively about implementing new approaches. With AI handling many of your routine tasks, use the freed-up time to experiment, innovate, and try new ideas. 

Skill 10: Ethical judgment 

AI systems are built by humans and are influenced by the biases and moral perspectives of their creators. This means you have to rely on your own ethical judgment to determine whether something is appropriate or responsible to move forward with. As AI becomes widespread, understanding its ethical implications is essential. You’ll need to make real-time decisions about when, where, and how to use it responsibly. 

A final thought on AI education

The future of work isn’t about humans versus machines. It’s about reskilling and learning how to work with AI to do incredible things together. By building these 10 essential skills, you’re not just preparing for what’s ahead, you’re setting yourself up to thrive in a world full of new possibilities.

Think of AI as your sidekick, not your replacement. It’s here to make your job easier, free up your time, and help you focus on what you do best. With a curious mindset, a willingness to learn, and a focus on using AI responsibly, you can unlock opportunities that take your career to the next level.

Want to learn even more about the state of AI? Check out this interview with Salesforce’s Chief Scientist, Silvio Savarese, and Chief Futurist, Peter Schwartz, where they talk about the evolution of AI and what’s to come.