Former OpenAI leader has an easy trick for surviving AI in the workplace

In the coming years, it’ll be more important that we “hire lawyers not for how fast they are, but for how well they understand a problem really uniquely,” Kass said.

He said it’ll also be critical to embrace what makes you likable, someone with whom other humans ultimately want to work.

“AI is going to commoditize most of our knowledge and many of our skills,” Kass later wrote by email. So our “immutable human qualities” like “courage, vision, wisdom, empathy” will become more important.

Those qualities could also set you apart as AI takes over tasks for workers at all levels. Studies have already shown that AI is bound to be an equalizer in the workplace. So, Kass says, workers should emphasize their personal qualities.

“Why would anyone hire ‘assholes’ in a world where everyone is smart,” he said with a laugh.

A workforce made up of likable people can also boost a company’s bottom line. People with work friends are not only more likely to stay in their jobs, but they’re also more productive, engaged, happier, and healthier.