Institute of Internal Communication

The rapid rise of robotics and other forms of advanced IT means that many currently valued workplace skills are destined to become obsolete and that ‘softer’, people skills will come into their own.

That was the message from futurologist Ian Pearson, who predicted that robots would be as intelligent as people by 2015, and 100 times more intelligent by 2020, with the progress of laptop capabilities following a similar pattern.

The only area in which artificial intelligence would lag behind humans for some years to come was interactional skills – for example, the ability to bond, build rapport with and counsel others.

For this reason, he contended that it was highly developed face-to-face communication skills that would be at a real premium in the future, while the human as ‘smart machine’ would no longer be required.

As women had traditionally been strong in relation to emotional intelligence, he envisaged that this change of emphasis would have a significant impact in terms of helping them rise to more senior positions and break down any glass ceilings. There would also be more opportunities for older people, as interactional skills increase as people age.

He argued that by 2020, with globalisation reducing most people to a commodity and machine intelligence eroding the value of most commodity level skills, only about 1% of the population would stand out in terms of their creative capabilities and, therefore, be in considerable demand from employers

Evolving technology will also make for very different workplaces. Much greater portability of devices will mean that traditional office spaces with desks and computers will be replaced by meeting places that double as work and social environments.

Pearson stressed that individuals’ ability to survive in this fast-changing environment would be inextricably linked to their ability and willingness to adapt.

Some of the science fiction-type developments that are already on the horizon clearly pose ethical dilemmas. Technology now exists that allows thought recognition to control computer games, and the converse is already on the verge of becoming a reality, that is IT inputting information directly to the brain. The Universities of Illinois, Boston and Pennsylvania have already undertaken research which has involved dissolving away circuits printed on silk membrane to leave a thin film of circuits rich in contacts that attaches to the brain surface.

While such advances may be useful in terms of brain disease, they would seem highly problematic in a work communication context.

The speed of progress means that it will be vitally important that trends are monitored and their possible impacts, interactions and higher order effects carefully considered prior to introduction.