Of these two types of humans, only one will survive

We’ve all met these two types of humans in the workplace.

Consider the following scenario: your team was just asked to develop a strategy for a new business. This requires a line of thinking that your team is not familiar with. Reactions could range from Joe: “I’ve never done this before, and it is outside my area of expertise.” to Jane: “I’ve never done this before, and I’ll figure out how to get it done.”

These are caricatures of course, but you get the point. Joe is not entirely in the wrong when he says he doesn’t have the expertise. But, expert skill defined as accumulated knowledge in a particular field, is fast losing relevance.

Why you ask? I bet you saw this one coming: Artificial Intelligence [AI]. Yes, AI is very quickly taking over tasks that require application of existing information. For example as of mid-2019, AI makes biopsy recommendations comparable to expert radiologists.

How can AI do this? The answer is data. To accomplish incredible feats such as beating the best human players at Jeopardy, these learning machines demand vast and diverse data. In fact, armed with enough data, AI can do things which seem near impossible. For example, AI can now create perfumes, without a sense of smell.

So, will Joe and Jane survive? Luckily there’s a simple measure to know who will survive: ‘AQ’

What is AQ? In the battle to survive, ‘Adaptability Quotient’ or AQ will be your competitive advantage. In simple terms, AQ is the ability to learn quickly, reinvent oneself, and remain comfortable with change. In the coming years your AQ, will become more important than your IQ or EQ.

Why will AQ become the most relevant measure? Well because, with everything that learning algorithms can accomplish today, there are still tasks that they can’t do. These are tasks that require genuine creativity, people management, or those that are highly unpredictable. For these type of tasks, data is limited or not available. In fact, accomplishing these tasks requires that quintessentially human quality: adaptability.

Now that’s good news as we head into the exciting unknown.

The future of work will challenge us on many levels. It will challenge us to be more creative, spontaneous, collaborative, innovative: and it will challenge us, ultimately to be more human.

The advent of AI has meant what work means, is changing everyday. And therefore, make no mistake only one type of human will survive — the one who is more adaptable to change.

The question is: are you ready adapt? are you ready to lead the future?

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A Message From Ram:

My mission is to illuminate the path toward humanity's exponential future. If you're a leader, innovator, or changemaker passionate about leveraging breakthrough technologies to create unprecedented positive impact, you're in the right place. If you know others who share this vision, please share these insights. Together, we can accelerate the trajectory of human progress.

Disclaimer:

Ram Srinivasan currently serves as an Innovation Strategist and Transformation Leader, authoring groundbreaking works including "The Conscious Machine" and the upcoming "The Exponential Human."

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