Computers now fly planes better than a human. We still have people who assist the computer to take off and land, but apart from that, it’s the computer flying the plane … and eventually it will be all done by computers.
People can’t beat computers at chess any more. Driverless cars are already safer than regular cars.
A friend of mine was horrified when their doctor Googled their symptoms in front of them. I love it … I reckon most medical diagnostics could be done better by a computer than by a doctor.
Think about your job … what part of it can’t be done better by a computer in five years time, or cheaper and just as well by someone overseas. If the answer is no part, you’re in trouble. If there is a part of the job, then that’s what you better focus on getting good at.
Here are the three things that are safe:
- Art. Whatever you create (ideas, software, design etc) isn’t going to be digitised.
- Teaching. Be it through standing in front of a classroom or a lecture hall, through coaching or speaking, it will still be in demand (and while multi-media content delivery and flipped classrooms are revolutionising education, face-to-face teachers are still integral).
- Influencing. Getting people to behave differently, think differently, buy differently will always be of value.
(By the way, these three things were influenced by Matt Church's message, market, method model - thanks Matt).
So identify the part of your job that is creating art, teaching or influencing, and focus on that. And work on making that a bigger and bigger part of what you do.
Love to hear your thoughts – how safe are your skills? You can leave them below.