Looking for work? Try being sociable

With machines already replacing some human labor, many wonder if the next frontier of artificial intelligence will foster a new era of job displacement. But some experts say that many executive positions stress sociability and people skills, areas where even intelligent computers still lag far behind humans.

Already labor force participation for men in their prime working years is at historic lows, according to one expert quoted in a Bloomberg story. She notes that women are generally better equipped for jobs that require strong social skills, as women tend to do better on tests of emotional intelligence. Such jobs are already becoming more female-dominated.

But others say that some positions where women dominate, such as secretaries and administrative assistants, may soon be done by intelligent machines. A University of Washington computer scientist claims that machines are already getting better with “natural language” and will one day be able to master reading emotional clues as well.

A “virtual assistant” created by the artificial intelligence company x.ai can already help executives with their daily email and scheduling. The system, called “Amy Ingram” (with the AI initials mimicking artificial intelligence) is currently in testing.

A Harvard University economics and education expert noted that his study of the job market since 1980 shows that positions requiring higher levels of emotional intelligence are responsible for almost all of the job growth over that time, while jobs with little social interaction have had little or no growth.