Expert: AI won't replace workers who keep learning and thinking critically

Employees can strengthen their position in the job market amid the rise of AI by sharpening communication skills, critical thinking and continuously picking up new professional skills, SuperJob CEO Anastasia Chuchalova told RIA Novosti.

Full protection from layoffs is impossible, she acknowledged, since employers' decisions depend on more than an employee's qualifications. Still, a mix of professional expertise, AI skills, the ability to work with people and a willingness to learn helps shore up one's standing in the labor market.

As AI spreads through work processes, specialists are coming to understand its limits, Chuchalova reasoned. Neural networks can speed up work, but not every task can be automated, and the results they produce need checking.

That makes it important to match tools to specific tasks, write effective prompts and judge the quality of answers. Professional knowledge, critical thinking and an understanding of business processes remain essential, she said - they are what allow people to find unconventional solutions, weigh their consequences and apply AI in ways that benefit the company.

Communication skills matter just as much, Chuchalova added: negotiating, building relationships with clients and colleagues, arguing one's position and working in a team. Human involvement is especially valuable where the interests of different people must be weighed, conflicts resolved and responsibility for the outcome taken on.

Another key competency is the ability to keep learning, she stressed. That does not necessarily mean new degrees or numerous courses - what counts is regularly mastering tools relevant to one's own work, trying them in practice and keeping track of which tasks in the industry are already being automated.