The Illusion of Obsolescence: Why Human Skills Still Matter in an AI-Driven World

These days, everyone in the tech industry, especially software developers and testers, has a kind of fear or, you could say, faces many problems. The coming generation, because of the advancements in AI, is going to face even more challenges. AI has become so prevalent in the normal professional world that everyone is slowly starting to feel that one day they will all be replaced. AI has truly replaced everything. ChatGPT, for example, has replaced many teachers and has shown that even studies can be conducted using AI. Therefore, those who thought that AI would never be able to do anything were completely wrong.

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First, understand that this didn't happen suddenly. Technology has always aimed to achieve this, and it has gradually become incredibly sophisticated. Today, it's more accurate than humans. The algorithms it uses and the problem-solving skills it possesses—all of this is far superior to what humans can do. Back then, when ATMs were introduced, people said that bank tellers would lose their jobs, but that didn't happen. The nature of the job changed, the required skills changed, but the work didn't disappear. It's the same now; you just have to be faster, and you have to adapt, otherwise your job is at risk. Change is inevitable. Some people lose their jobs; some keep them. The people who keep their jobs are those who possess the necessary skills and who constantly update themselves.

Yes, it's very true that AI has replaced some jobs. The people who were doing those jobs are now unemployed. However, it's also completely wrong to say that AI has taken away everyone's jobs. If it's destroying jobs, it's also creating them. Tasks like data entry, basic customer support, simple content creation, and manual reporting can be easily done by AI. There's no need for human intervention in these tasks. They don't require emotional intelligence or creativity, which is why AI can perform them. But there are many jobs that humans can do much better, which is why they are still relevant today.

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But this is where people make a mistake. They think that AI will take over every job, whereas AI can only take over jobs that are predictable and repetitive, jobs that don't require human judgment, empathy, ethics, creativity, and emotional intelligence. AI will never be able to do those jobs, no matter how advanced it becomes. A teacher, for example, understands the syllabus and the students and treats each student individually because they know that every student is different. No matter how good or accurate the answer is, or how quickly it's given, it can't replicate the way a human teacher teaches or understands you. That's why teachers have never become obsolete. Even today, teachers are essential in every school and college. They understand how to teach children effectively.

Actually, AI's biggest role is to support and assist humans, not replace them. Imagine a doctor who has to analyze reports; if AI can predict potential risks beforehand, how much easier and faster will it be for the doctor to make decisions? How quickly will they be able to describe the medical situation and know how to treat everyone? But can AI ever become a doctor? Absolutely not. Even if it can perform all the tasks of a doctor, create reports, and suggest medications, it can never truly be a doctor. This applies to other fields as well, such as marketing, finance, design, and education. AI can be an assistant, but it can never be the boss, and it can never do the things that humans can do because humans operate on emotions and intuition, while AI only operates on code. Therefore, it can never become truly intelligent or surpass human capabilities; it can only ever be an assistant.

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And another important point that people often ignore is that it's also creating new jobs; it's just that their names are naturally different compared to 10 years ago. And roles like promoted engineering, machine learning, and trainer ethics consultant didn't exist before, and today they are among the highest-paying jobs. The problem is that we are taught outdated skills, or we are not taught a new curriculum. The problem is that people today are stuck with old skills. When there's a skills mismatch, they blame recruitment agencies and HR. But the more skillful you are, the more you know, and the more work you can do. You'll quickly understand that this leads to the creation of new jobs, and these new jobs come with higher salaries.

Lastly, I can say that yes, in many areas, such as customer service, chat support (which is common for B2B companies), or even slightly larger-scale phone calls like cold calls, AI has been implemented. This includes things like generating images and email bodies for sales pitches. I haven't seen AI completely take over these areas yet. Humans are still controlling these processes, or AI is simply acting as an assistant. It can generate and send everything, but deciding who to send it to, when to send it, and how to send it is still up to humans. Because it doesn't have the mental capacity to make its own decisions. It's simply a machine that follows instructions. It always operates on the court according to pre-programmed rules. Human emotions and brains are what drive humans, which is why humans are more intelligent today. ​​No matter how much work it does, no matter what it accomplishes, it lacks that crucial element of independent thought.

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