People and Machines: Collaborators or Competitors in the Emerging World of Work is a study published by Policy Horizons Canada, that explores how key international and domestic change drivers such as technology, co-production and demographics could potentially impact Canada’s economy by 2025 and how these could present both challenges and opportunities in promoting community resiliency, prosperity and well-being.

While anticipating the ways that technology may impact employment is not new, the author notes that what is new to this discussion is the recognition that the pace of evolution for computer technology, combined with enhancements in artificial intelligence technologies, is creating scenarios where machines will likely assume some of the tasks that are now the work of high-skilled professionals.  While it is impossible to predict the future, the following skills have been identified as important to succeed in this future world of work:

• Critical thinking – Artificial intelligence may be able to create sophisticated algorithms, but these algorithms do not possess the human intelligence to help make sense of our lives.
• Social intelligence – As we move towards more collaborative ways of working, emotions, empathy and “play” will be some of the key “right-brained” tools needed to effectively come up with innovative solutions to complex problems.
• Adaptive thinking – The ability to immediately respond to unexpected situations is a skill required in both high and low-skilled jobs. Within the next 10-15 years, humans are likely to have a comparative advantage here.
• Creativity and design – The art of shaping imaginative ideas into reality is a process that is difficult to codify. The practice of this skill is buried in the complexity of the human brain and will be hard for any machine to emulate in the near future.
• Cross-cultural competency – In increasingly diverse and/or unfamiliar contexts, especially given the rise of a more global and networked world (both physical and virtual), this skill will be key in navigating relationships and collaborative endeavours.
• New media and data literacy skills to aid in better communication of novel and compelling ideas, concepts and stories through visual, auditory and sensory means;
• Filtering abilities to manage information overload and focus, yet still take in and process a vast range of information; and
• Virtual skills that enable workers to harness collaborative technologies in order to share ideas and work via online interactions and across geographical distances.

Other important future skills that may be enhanced by emerging technologies include:

• Foresight and systems thinking capabilities that help people understand the critical elements included in a particular system, explore options, challenges and opportunities, and develop strategies to better prepare for the future; and
• Interdisciplinary skills that provide people with the ability to see the linkages between and communicate in the language of a range of disciplines in order to help address multifaceted and complex problems.

Some policy questions that Canada must consider in order be well-positioned to seize opportunities and minimize challenges in this future world of work are then identified.  These include:

• If automation results in substantial unemployment, what will be the impacts on the economy? How will Canada fare in the global competition for talent, as automation displaces large labour pools in emerging economies? How will governments address issues such as income inequality, dwindling consumption, and redistribution of wealth?
• How can Canada help develop a culture of life-long learning that meets the needs of the labour market while helping its citizens develop the skills necessary to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances? What impacts will skills shortages have on competitiveness, innovation and income inequality if not adequately addressed?
• What type of social policy framework will be required to support Canadian participation in a world where collaborative technologies foster non-traditional work arrangements?