Survive or Be Overwhelmed by AI?

Photo by Luthfiah VOI

Artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence (AI) continues to develop rapidly and its use is increasingly gripping various joints of life. Adapting and using it for good purposes is the key so that humans and machines can stand side by side in harmony for a better life.

"The person who is replaced by AI is the one who cannot use it," could be an alarm for humans. Of course there are several reasons why having the ability to use AI is the main key to survive in this modern era. AI can develop individual skills that are necessary to remain relevant in the ever-evolving world of work and in fact, AI has brought major changes in various industries, from manufacturing to healthcare.

Director of AI & Data Transformation, Adhiguna Mahendra, revealed that to survive in the AI era, mastering new skills is very important. There are two main categories of skills needed, namely technical skills and non-technical skills. Technical skills such as programming and understanding of AI algorithms are very valuable. Many jobs now require basic knowledge of programming and data analysis.

"Although it is not from a technical background, having a basic understanding of programming and data analysis will be very helpful. Learning a programming language that is widely used in AI applications will help to understand and master AI," he said.

In addition to technical skills, non-technical skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and adaptability are also very important. AI cannot replace the ability of humans to think creatively and solve complex problems. The ability to identify problems, think outside the box, and adapt existing solutions to new situations is a much-needed skill.

In addition, gaining practical experience through small projects can be very useful. For example, trying to develop a simple machine learning model to understand how it works. Participating in AI competitions or hackathons can also be a good way to apply the knowledge you have learned and collaborate with others.

"Joining the AI community can provide an opportunity to learn from others who have the same interests and goals. Discussions and collaboration within the community can open up new insights and help accelerate the learning process," added Adhiguna.

Human and AI Collaboration

Researcher at the Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security Research Center BRIN, Rika Sustika explained, the strategy to survive and succeed in the AI era is no longer just using AI, but collaboration between humans and autonomous AI systems. According to him, in the AI era like now, adopting a lifelong learner mindset is very important considering that AI technology is developing rapidly and requires high flexibility to continue reskilling and upskilling to remain relevant.

In addition, developing soft skills that are irreplaceable by focusing on unique human skills that are difficult to imitate by AI, such as emotional intelligence, empathy, communication, collaboration, and leadership are also necessary. "Critical thinking is also important because although AI is able to provide quick solutions, humans must evaluate the relevance, ethics, and long-term impact of these solutions," he said.

"Adaptability and resilience by seeing change as an opportunity, not a threat. The ability to adapt quickly to new tools is very crucial," continued Rika.

Meanwhile, regarding the keys to success and growth in the AI era, he stated that mastering Prompt Engineering and Generative AI such as the ability to formulate the right instructions (prompt) to AI is a mandatory skill to increase productivity. Because, Humans are not replaced by AI, but by other humans using AI. "Make AI as a partner to handle routine tasks, so that we can focus on vision and strategy," he added.

The Importance of Long-Term Strategies

The head of the management consulting company Bain and Company in Southeast Asia, Edmund Lin, said that the impact of AI on the sustainability of a certain job profession cannot be equated with other job professions. Because, the more human involvement in a profession will make that type of work more able to survive in the AI era.

According to Lin, until 2027 there are still several types of professions that cannot be replaced by AI, such as vocational school teachers, extraordinary schools, lecturers at universities, equipment operators in the agricultural industry, electrical technicians, and experts in the field of digital transformation.

Therefore, humans must still hold full control over the AI development time bridge so as not to be left behind by the entities they create themselves. "Building a positive attitude and continuing to be open to learning about various new things is recommended so that they can remain competitive in the AI era," he said.

In the business sector, President & CEO of Dale Carnegie Global, Joe Hart emphasized the importance of the role of a company's leader in adopting AI. This is because, in the midst of rapid AI development, company leaders are required to think about long-term strategies regarding what changes they want to achieve through the use of this technology.

"It's really hype (AI), it seems like if you don't now you're behind. But leaders need to have a long-term strategy, this AI will be used to transform what, then how to involve existing employees so that they can also support that long-term program," he explained.

He assessed that the emergence of various AI tools encouraged companies, especially business leaders, to be tempted to use them at once. Unfortunately, this approach has the impact of lack of communication so that the tools are not used well, and the decrease in employee trust due to the lack of openness about the purpose of using AI.

Joe Hart revealed that based on the findings that the change in AI adoption is still limited to improving the existing process to become faster, superior, but not on the business transformation itself. Therefore, leadership is important in AI adoption. Leaders need to dare to take control, but first they must increase their capacity to be able to lead the organization in the face of AI-based changes.

"Leaders must first rise to the class before they can lead organizations to adopt AI. If the leadership style is like now (not yet fully understood) to adopt AI, it is feared that it will be chaotic. One of the keys to successfully riding the wave of change in various lines is to develop skills in using AI," he concluded.