AI replaceability fears bring an urgent need for people skills but not for the reasons you think

AI could free us up from repetitive tasks but there are fears around job losses as a result, writes Ben Davern

Machines cannot feel compassion—at most, they can mimic it (primarily through advances in spoken language technology and Natural Language Processing). This highlights the importance of developing advanced people skills and communication skills. 

In a recent keynote presentation at IMI’s National Leadership Conference, IBM Ireland General Manager, Deborah Threadgold, shared insights around the profound impact of AI in the workplace. 

Drawing on IBM’s own digital transformation journey, Threadgold noted how the integration of self-service solutions and AI technologies like chatbots has allowed IBM to streamline HR processes, such as identifying gaps in employee readiness for promotions or handling out-of-policy expense claims—tasks previously conducted manually at great time expense. Crucially, AI serves in this example as a tool to assist human decisionmakers, who make the final decision but are freed from countless hours of repetitive data gathering and paperwork to focus on other areas.