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- AI expert Ethan Mollick said the technology can help young job seekers with "task distribution."
- The skills people gain to work with AI can quickly become irrelevant since the technology evolves.
- Mollick said AI can help with tasks that employees struggle with, freeing up time for other duties.
If you're a young person trying to land a job in the age of AI, one expert says you should focus on mastering tasks, not skills.
Wharton professor Ethan Mollick, a prominent figure in the AI revolution and author of "Co-Intelligence," said that a lot of the skills people learn related to AI aren't all that useful, because the technology evolves and quickly makes the skill somewhat irrelevant.
"It would be helpful for young people to think more about what tasks they're actually really good at, because that's where they stay ahead of machines," Mollick told Business Insider. "And then you can find a job where the machine helps you with the other pieces of your task."
Every job, he said, requires many tasks, and it's unlikely that a single applicant will excel at all of them. AI can help with "task distribution" and help in the areas where applicants struggle. Knowing how to provide clear instructions is crucial for maximizing the benefits of AI as it completes tasks.
"Being able to be an expert enough in something to know whether it's good or bad turns out to be really important," Mollick said about judging AI's output.
He also advised that young people should focus on gaining broad knowledge and developing expertise in specific topics. Since AI machines are trained on such a wide array of information, having a strong base in the humanities is useful, he said.
AI is threatening entry-level jobs across industries, making it especially hard for Gen Zers to find work. Mollick — who has consulted with JPMorgan, Google, and the White House on AI usage — told Business Insider that he's most concerned about whether we're tackling the question of how to restructure jobs with enough urgency.
As AI automates some technical abilities, soft skills are newly crucial for job applicants. Communication, leadership, and organizational prowess were among the top skills identified by Indeed's Hiring Lab. Some leaders who celebrate the promise of AI worry that employees could lose the ability to complete certain tasks.
