ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we look at the limits of human capabilities at work. First, we discuss how demographic changes are impacting the labor force in ways that are at least as profound as botsourcing—or the displacement of human laborers with robotic labor or automated processes. Then we look at both our strengths and our weaknesses, with an eye toward implications for the work environment. We will think about thinking with guidance from Daniel Kahneman’s take on System 1 and System 2 type thinking. We try to understand in more depth what human general intelligence brings to the table when compared to AI. Our originality, intuition, emotions, care, playfulness, ethical conviction, and aesthetic taste, for example, are irreplaceable by machines. That said, human rationality is prone to specific kinds of breakdowns. We look at some well-documented human biases that affect how we work with others. We conclude by identifying uniquely human qualities that we need to cultivate, including creativity, emotional intelligence, intuition, care, ethical convictions, aesthetics, and playfulness. As machines become increasingly intelligent and enterprises shift responsibilities away from humans, we must cultivate certain human traits to remain relevant.
