To future-proof your career in the age of AI, do 3 simple things
If you’re starting to wonder if you’re relying a little too much on AI at work, you’re in good company.
Half of employees say they trust AI too much Research from GoTo and Workplace Intelligencewhere I am the managing partner. In our survey of 2,500 employees and IT leaders, 39% of employees said AI makes them less smart, 41% believe AI will harm their long-term career prospects, and 30% said they would no longer be able to function in the workplace without AI.
I’ve spent more than a decade researching how technology is reshaping careers, and this data tells me we’re at an inflection point. Artificial intelligence is not going away, and fighting it is not the solution. But neither of them surrender your career to him.
The workers who will stand out are those who learn to use AI as a partner, not as a crutch. This starts with developing three specific habits.
1. Audit your AI usage once a week
One of the reasons why many employees feel that AI is eroding their skills is that they are pushed to use AI regardless of whether a task requires it or not; 60% of employees in our survey said they felt pressure to use AI to increase their productivity. All this pressure left unchecked turns into a bad habit.
A simple weekly audit can help break this cycle. Keep a running list on your phone or a sticky note on your desk of every task you delegate to the AI. At the end of the week, spend 10 minutes looking at where you’re using AI and asking two questions:
- Did it improve the outcome?
- Could I do this myself?
Rather than trying to eliminate AI entirely, be honest about where it adds value and saves time, and be honest about where you outsource if you think you should.
2. Do difficult tasks yourself first
Our research found that 70% of employees admit to using AI inappropriately for sensitive or high-risk work that requires emotional intelligence or sound judgment, from navigating difficult conversations to making decisions with real consequences. These are tasks that are how you will improve by doing the work yourself.
Take at least 15 minutes of your time before resorting to artificial intelligence. Write the first draft. Consider the argument. Then use it to pressure test or refine your work rather than having the AI build something from scratch.
In our survey, 43% of employees admitted to using AI output even if they suspected it contained errors or fraudulent information. Almost a third (31%) said they felt unspoken pressure to trust AI and keep quiet about its errors, while 14% said they reported AI errors to a manager but were told to keep quiet.
Judgment is a skill that fades without practice. As AI becomes more capable, the employees and leaders who will remain valuable are not those who activate an output and run with it, but those who can tell when an output is wrong, incomplete, or missing something the situation requires, and do something about it.
3. Develop skills that AI can’t replicate
Use the time freed up by AI to become more distinctly human.
In our survey, employees said the most important skills in an AI-focused workplace will be creative thinking, emotional intelligence, and judgment (including knowing when to trust and when to override AI). These are the skills that will separate successful employees from those who stagnate.
Choose one of the areas to improve each quarter. If you’re client-facing, put yourself in situations that require reading a room or resolving disputes without a script. If you’re in a more analytical role, practice establishing and defending your point of view before looking at what others think or what an AI chatbot tells you.
Dan Schawbel He is a New York Times bestselling author, future of work expert, keynote speaker, and managing partner. Workplace IntelligenceAn award-winning thought leadership and research agency focused on business. He is the author of three career books: “Back to Human,” “Introduce Yourself” and “Me 2.0.”
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