How not to get lost in the world of AI: tips from top managers at Google, Cisco, and Dropbox

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly ubiquitous, many workers fear that technology will replace them. Eight technical leaders shared which skills they believe employees should develop.

Published 3 min read

Whether you are just starting your career or have worked for decades, your job is likely changing—or will soon change. According to a recent Salesforce study, the prevalence of autonomous AI will grow by 327% by 2027, and HR directors plan to redeploy 23% of employees within the next two years. Although 61% of workers are likely to remain in their roles, these roles will also change, the report states.

Some technology company leaders still believe that basic knowledge, such as programming, remains important. However, other skills are gaining significance, changing the perception of what it means to be successful at work.

Be a generalist

Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar stated that the world is moving toward an era where deep specialization will be valued less. He believes that those who combine knowledge in a specific area with technical skills will be more in demand than those who have focused solely on one niche.

For example, a historian who can use AI tools to apply knowledge of the past to future scenarios will be more competitive than someone who can only talk about a specific period in history.

Similarly, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said that as cybersecurity integrates into other platforms, the company is looking for people with diverse skills.

Previously, other cybersecurity representatives also stated that while fundamental knowledge in data and IT is important, flexibility and soft skills remain key.

Focus on new ideas

When leaders talk about AI tools, they often emphasize that employees will have more time for "deep work." Morgan Brown, Vice President of Product and Growth at Dropbox, defines this as time for broad thinking and idea development.

Thanks to AI, employees have more time for deep and creative tasks, not just routine debugging. According to Cisco representative Jitu Patel, this can increase not only productivity but also job satisfaction.

Due to increased efficiency with AI, bringing new products to market happens significantly faster—allowing ideas to be realized more quickly.

Cisco Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Liz Centoni agreed with this in an interview in March. She noted that the ability to think outside the box is essential.

Learn to work well with AI tools

Many know how to ask ChatGPT a simple question, but prompt engineering is a much more complex skill. Google Cloud representative Yasmin Ahmad emphasized that it is important to understand what questions to ask, what data is available, and how to formulate requests properly.

Successful employees will be able to interact with new tools, know how to build prompts correctly, ask the right questions, and engage in dialogue in a new format.

Google Cloud CTO Will Granniss added that to keep up, you need to go beyond formal training. This means following curiosity and using available AI tools for code generation. In addition to prompt engineering, he highlights another skill—contextual thinking, which means understanding the entire system as a whole.

Proficient use of AI also involves effective interaction with agents, said Salesforce Chief People Officer Lori Castillo Martinez. Employees need to know when to use agents and how to communicate with them.

Jitu Patel also emphasized that one of the key skills is the ability to organize workflows with agents, including clear task setting and monitoring their execution.

The article was translated from Business Insider.