When AI replaces human workers, what will humans do? 7 skills humans need in the world of AI.

As we fully enter the world of agentic AI, skills in problem-solving, analytical thinking, AI management, and decision-making will be crucial. Future jobs will be a competition between those who use AI to expand their capabilities and those who still strive to do everything manually. Here are 7 essential skills humans need in the world of agentic AI.

September 6, 2569 - The arrival of the GPT-6 Astra may bring the question of "the future of work" back into our minds, because what's noteworthy about this AI model isn't just its ability to answer questions or create content, but its ability to "do" things instead of humans.

OpenAI's demonstration video features an interesting demonstration. A person simply instructs Astra to generate a simple rocket image from geometric shapes. They then gradually refine details, add elements, and develop it into a game. The person demonstrating the process involved minimal manual input, instead using voice commands to instruct the AI, which then proceeded to execute the task.

Video demonstrating the operation of the GPT-6 Astra.

This image might seem like just a demonstration of a model's capabilities, but a deeper look reveals a transformation in how people work. In the past, creating something on a computer required manually opening the program, learning the tools, building, modifying, testing, and performing each step. In the world of agentic AI, humans may only need to state "what they need," while the AI ​​performs the tasks. This will directly impact the daily lives and work of ordinary people.

Because many tasks in organizations today are not unlike what AI is already doing—from searching for information and writing reports to analyzing data, creating presentations, responding to emails, updating databases, coordinating, and writing and testing programs—these tasks aren't disappearing immediately. Instead, they are being broken down into smaller parts, and repetitive tasks or those with well-defined processes are increasingly likely to be taken over by AI.

And as AI replaces human jobs, what people need to do is move up to the next level, such as from operators to goal setters, from producers to directors, from doers to inspectors and decision makers. This reflects how the skills needed in the world of work are changing in line with the rapid development of AI.

The people who will have an advantage in the era of agentic AI may not be those who can do everything themselves, but rather those who know what AI should and shouldn't do, how to set tasks for AI, how to monitor results, and how to turn AI's work into value. Therefore, as AI increasingly replaces humans, what humans need to develop urgently may not be learning how to do things the old way better, but rather developing the ability to "direct AI effectively and create more value from AI than others." In short, they need to evolve from doers to goal setters.

And these are 7 essential skills that humans should possess as we enter the era of AI.

Skills 1: You must be good at setting problems.

Because as AI becomes more sophisticated, the difference between two people may not be who uses AI better, but who can better define the task for it. Simply telling AI, "Write a report for me," may no longer be sufficient. We need to be able to define the goals, context, target audience, limitations, success criteria, and what we don't want the AI ​​to do. Having this skill doesn't mean everyone has to become a Prompt Engineer, but it means that employees must be able to think systematically and communicate their needs clearly.

Because even though AI becomes smarter and capable of solving problems, it doesn't automatically transform vague problems into good ones. Conversely, if the goal is wrong, a more skilled AI might help us achieve the wrong goal faster than before.

Therefore, the skills to ask questions, define problems, and identify what the real problem is will become even more important.

Skills 2: You must think analytically, not just blindly follow others.

When AI can find information, analyze it, and generate answers within minutes, the value of humans will no longer lie in being the first to discover information, but in their ability to evaluate what that information means. Therefore, humans need to possess more analytical thinking, not less.

Having a large amount of data doesn't always mean better decision-making. Good decision-making requires knowing which data is important, which is unreliable, which assumptions are problematic, and which conclusions should be questioned. This aligns with data from the World Economic Forum, which found that analytical thinking remains one of the top skills employers seek. Meanwhile, AI and Big Data, technological literacy, creative thinking, as well as resilience, flexibility, and agility are projected to become increasingly important between 2025 and 2030. In other words, the better AI is at processing information, the better humans need to be at making decisions.

Skills 3: You must know how to review AI work.

Reviewing work will become as crucial a skill as the actual work itself, because delegating tasks doesn't mean responsibility is transferred to AI. If the AI ​​generates an incorrect report, we can't simply tell the client that an AI did it and then lose the responsibility.

If AI analyzes data incorrectly, executives still make the decision. If AI writes incorrect code, the system can still cause damage to the organization. Therefore, humans must be able to verify results, question assumptions, and know when to stop AI or ask it to redo the task. This becomes even more crucial when AI has the ability to perform real-world actions. This means that in the future, "Human in the loop" may not mean that humans have to do every step, but rather that humans will still have the right and ability to monitor, stop, and approve what AI is doing.

Skills 4: Knowledge in one's own field will be even more important.

It might seem that when AI knows vast amounts of data, humans will no longer need to specialize in anything. However, the opposite is true; specialized expertise may become even more valuable because people without knowledge in a particular field may not even realize that the AI ​​is giving incorrect answers or making mistakes.

For example, an accountant who understands accounting principles will be better able to vet AI work than someone who doesn't. Similarly, a doctor who understands diagnostic processes will be better able to evaluate AI recommendations than someone without a medical background. Meanwhile, a marketer who understands consumer behavior will know if AI is suggesting campaigns that are irrelevant to the brand. Therefore, the future may not be AI replacing knowledgeable people, but rather, knowledgeable people who can use AI well will replace those who have knowledge but don't know how to use AI.

Skills 5: Creating something new and recognizing what should be created.

When AI can generate text, images, presentations, websites, and code, humans might question whether creativity is still necessary. The answer is yes, but its role is changing. In the past, creativity was partly about the ability to produce work. But as AI can produce massive amounts of work, human advantage may shift to the ability to think about what should be created in the first place.

For example, AI might generate 100 images in a few minutes, but humans must choose which one is meaningful. Or, AI might write dozens of versions of an article, but humans must know which story to tell. Even, AI might propose hundreds of business ideas, but humans must decide which one is truly marketable. Therefore, creativity in the AI ​​era is not just the ability to create new things, but also the ability to see what should be created.

Skills 6: Must be able to work with AI.

In the future, AI may become members of teams. Each individual might have their own AI agent, or work collaboratively with multiple agents who have different roles. One person might have the AI ​​analyze data, another conduct research, yet another create presentations, and yet another review the work using the AI. Therefore, teamwork may no longer just mean working with humans, but rather becoming Human + AI Collaboration.

Key skills therefore include the division of labor between humans and AI, defining the scope of AI's authority, monitoring results, and knowing when to delegate decisions to humans. Those who use AI effectively may not have an advantage because they know secret instructions, but because they understand which tasks should be delegated to AI and which should not.

Skill 7: Responsibility

This might be the skill that AI will find most difficult to replace, while at the same time being the most crucial role for humans. Because even though AI can think, analyze, and act quickly, the key question is: who is responsible for the outcome?

This is the most important role of humans in the world of AI. Because as AI becomes more involved, humans may not be responsible for doing everything, but rather for setting the framework, making crucial decisions, monitoring results, and taking responsibility for what happens. Many decisions are not simply about "right" or "wrong" answers, but involve values, ethics, risk, and the impact on others.

In the traditional world, being skilled at a job might mean being able to complete a large number of tasks quickly. But in a world where AI can perform many tasks instead of humans, skill will no longer be solely about speed, but about choosing the right tasks. Because as data production, writing, analysis, programming, and even using computers become increasingly capable of being assisted by AI, the value of humanity will gradually shift from "putting effort to create results" to "shaping the direction of those results."

Future workers may not necessarily need to be those who do everything themselves, but rather those who can set goals, utilize AI, think analytically, verify information, make decisions, and take responsibility for the results.

And finally, humans may need to stop asking "What can AI do to replace us?" and instead ask a more important question: "Once AI can do those things for us, what should we use our own abilities for?" Because the future of work will not be a competition between humans and AI, but a competition between those who know how to use AI to expand their own capabilities and those who continue to try to do everything themselves as before.

Compiled by the Editorial Team.

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