To survive Gen AI, become a learning athlete

This summer, new graduates are landing their first jobs and entering the workforce. It's an exciting time that's marked by a flurry of hallmark learnings like navigating a new professional network and making a positive impression with colleagues.

This year — and perhaps for the first time ever — these professionals are also grappling with a new and daunting consideration: How might generative AI affect their roles over the coming years?

I know this concern firsthand — my daughters are both entering the workforce. With the rise of generative AI, skills are becoming outdated more quickly, and recent college graduates (not to mention the rest of us) are feeling the pressure of their skills becoming obsolete.

But while the headlines are foreboding, there is actually good news for talent amidst the AI revolution. Generative AI makes human skillsets more valuable, and talent should use this moment as a springboard to expand their capabilities, try new roles and become more versatile.

In short, we all need to become learning athletes.

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Changing the game: Skills take focus for professionals
While there's a lot of focus on entry-level jobs, the truth is no one is immune to the impact of AI. A recent Cognizant and Oxford Economics study found generative AI could disrupt most jobs (90%) in some way over the next ten years.

We're at a turning point for professional growth — one that's starting to lean more heavily on skills in addition to gaining experience and network connections. In the coming years, we'll start seeing traditional hierarchies decrease in importance as skills — not seniority levels — determine an individual's value on a team and career opportunities.

To keep pace, AI is forcing us to think about learning in a different way. We're moving from what I like to call a "structured" learning environment to an "unstructured" one. Learning is no longer an experience we reserve for academic institutions, under the guidance of professors and syllabi; we're all in charge of our own learning journeys now.

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Staying ahead by embracing unstructured learning
College graduates have a significant advantage in this evolving workplace. Why? Because they're already learning athletes after spending 20 years of structured education building this muscle.

Their biggest challenge, though, is transitioning from a structured learning environment to a continuous and self-motivated one. Grads may feel like they've reached their educational finish line, but they're actually entering a new chapter of learning.

Strong employers will help grads make this transition by providing tailored learning paths and guidance. This still requires employees to be self-motivated on their continuous learning journey.

At the same time, the world is facing a crisis of confidence as it relates to leaders and Gen AI. According to Udemy, nearly half of professionals are not confident their leaders have the skills needed to lead them through the Gen AI transformation.

Many leaders may not realize they need to upskill — and fast — and are banking on their years of experience to carry them through change instead. It's time to reframe that thinking and prioritize knowledge building, no matter your role or rank.

The bottom line is professionals need to take ownership of what and when they learn, and they need to maintain continued rigor for learning amidst daily tasks.

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How to become a learning athlete
To lay the groundwork for a successful career path, here are a few habits I encourage:

• Be your own entrepreneur of learning. Keep training. Take ownership and make learning a daily habit. Set aside dedicated time in your day, try the most cutting-edge training methods, and challenge your body (or in this case your mind) with new techniques.
• Choose an employer with a robust learning and development ecosystem. Both for recent grads and more experienced professionals, focus less on what job you're going to do and more on what you're going to learn with your new employer. So much is changing — join an organization that will help you stay ready for what's next and future-proof your career.
• Be open to trying new things — Learning isn't always planned — in fact, it happens best when you're uncomfortable, push your boundaries, and even when you make mistakes. Focus on gathering a variety of experiences, not just becoming an expert at a certain skillset, or moving up the ladder. Taking a broad, longer-term view will lead to a higher trajectory over time.

A bright future for us all
It's important to remember that yes, technology is evolving, but humans are too.

When we embrace continuous learning, the future with Gen AI looks brighter. I believe we'll see some of the best innovations come from humans because of this technology, and new and different career paths will emerge — and that's good news for us all.