As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly capable of writing, coding, analysing data and performing administrative tasks, much of the future-of-work conversation has focused on which jobs AI might replace.

There is another question worth asking: which human capabilities become more valuable because AI exists? The answer could shape how organisations approach workforce development over the next decade.

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AI Changes the Value of Skills

When technology makes a task easier to perform, the value of simply executing that task can decline. AI can already generate presentations, summarise documents, analyse datasets and produce first drafts of complex materials within seconds. But generating an output is not the same as determining whether it is useful, appropriate or strategically sound. As AI handles more execution, human value may increasingly shift toward judgement.

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The Skills That Could Gain Value

Several capabilities are likely to become increasingly important. Critical thinking will help employees evaluate AI-generated information rather than accepting it unquestioningly. Communication will remain essential for influencing people, managing stakeholders and translating complex ideas into action. Creativity will increasingly involve framing original problems and recognising opportunities rather than simply producing content. Emotional intelligence will remain important in leadership, negotiation and situations requiring empathy. And perhaps most importantly, judgement will determine when AI should be trusted and when human intervention is required.

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From Doing the Work to Directing the Work

Agentic AI could accelerate this transition. Employees may increasingly spend less time executing every step of a process and more time directing intelligent systems, reviewing outputs and making decisions.

This requires a different type of workforce capability. Technical AI literacy will matter, but so will the ability to combine technology with context, ethics and business understanding.

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The Implications for Learning and Development

Organisations preparing for this transition should avoid focusing exclusively on technical AI training. Workforce development will also need to strengthen leadership, problem-solving, collaboration, communication and decision-making. Paradoxically, the more capable machines become, the more valuable distinctly human capabilities may become.

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The Bottom Line

AI will undoubtedly change which skills organisations need. But the future of work is unlikely to be defined simply by humans competing against machines. It will increasingly be defined by people who know what machines should do, how to direct them and when human judgement matters more.