Stay Relevant as a Developer: Top Skills in the Age of AI| OPTASY

“AI will replace software developers by 20XX...” Does this kind of alarming forecast sound (too) familiar to you? How do you stay relevant in the workforce of the future? What are the essential skills in the age of AI to hone or to develop?

That is the question...

Now, what we do know is that:

you definitely need to (re)adapt to remain competitive in the context of automation processes, a highly automated workplace
… and software-driven machines that can now process unstructured data meaningfully
there are skills that can't be automated: soft skills become increasingly valuable
more and more businesses will be interested in bringing “fusion skills”, a mix of human and machine talents, into their workplace

In other words: as we teach machines to learn, we, too, need to start learning from them in order to remain relevant and competitive in the workforce of the future. It's definitely not a “one-way street”.

1. Understanding AI and Its Disruptive Power

What do you think of when you say “artificial intelligence”?

shopping recommendation engines?
chatbots?
voice/image recognition engines?

These are the most common applications of AI, right?

And they're all powered by... data:

There are massive amounts of raw data all around us, waiting to be processed... meaningfully. Data that's powering any organizational decision these days.

Now, here's how AI turns all this data into actionable knowledge:

first, it's the big data techniques that unlock the power of the unprocessed data
next, there are the machine learning algorithms that enable computers to assimilate all these huge volumes of data
and finally, there are the deep learning and neural network patterns that add “meaning” to the process up to the point of... predicting human behavior

“And how precisely does AI impact my job?”

The immediate impacts of Robotics Process Automation on your job as a software developer will be:

disrupting all those repetitive, mundane processes and operations (and thus enhancing your job)
providing you with more... time

“Time” that you could invest in honing all those skills that can't be automated: soft skills (or people skills), the ability to engage in creative researches etc.

2. Thriving in the Age of Automation: Upskill Yourself

There's no denying it:

In order to stay relevant and competitive in the age of AI you need to skill up. Constantly...

You need to make learning an integral part of your daily work as a software developer.

And thank God, there's a whole plethora of:

platforms for open online courses
AI incubators and university labs (Carnegie Mellon or MIT)
competency-based training tools
open educational resources (EdTech)

… for you to choose from.

Go for bite-sized upskilling sessions and turn it into a continuous process!

3. Skills in the Age of AI that Can't Be Automated

And this is your trump card in this “human meets machine” or “AI threatening to replace developers” type of debate:

Soft skills become extremely valuable in the age of automation because... they can't be automated.

What skills I'm referring to here?

creativity
critical and innovative thinking
collaborating skills
social skills
empathy
adaptability

In short: those type of skills that are outside the purview of rigid algorithms.

Hone your “people skills” to thrive in a workplace based more and more on collaboration. And on crafting authentic human experiences.

Perfect your creativity and critical thinking to generate out-of-the-box solutions to common problems.

4. Develop These 5 “Fusion” Skills

"F usion skills” are the must-have skills in the age of AI.

I'm talking here about the kind of abilities that result from human & machine interactions turned into a continuous collaboration, such as:

4.1. Intelligent Interrogation

Develop the skill of asking machines the “right” questions.

It will become a crucial one since, as human, you can't predict interactions between complex layers of data working independently. You cannot probe overly complex systems...

4.2. Bot-Based Empowerment

Instead of constantly fearing it and fighting it back:

Embrace the power of AI bots.

Let them empower you to:

boost your career as a software developer
become more productive (they're taking the mundane operations off your back, remember)
extend your competencies

4.3. Judgment Integration

One of the truly powerful skills in the age of AI is anticipating when a machine can't make a decision. Due to lack of ethical context, let's say.

It's then that you can intervene and provide the needed input.

4.4. Reciprocal apprenticing

As already stated here:

The learning process is no longer a “one-way street”. You, too, need to learn from the AI agents integrated into your workplace, not just the other way around.

It means that you'll need to:

develop all those new skills needed for performing tasks in collaboration with machines
learn how to successfully carry out AI-enhanced processes

4.5. Relentless Re-Imagining

Keep honing — or developing it if you have none — the skills responsible for reimagining the status quo.

Dare to re-think how AI can improve business models, organizational processes and overall your entire work as a software developer.

Once you've managed that, you'll be ready to... adapt yourself to all those imminent changes. To start perfecting all those relevant skills in the age of AI.

5. Aspire to Be an Expert-Generalist Software Developer

Organizations will be “hunting” expert-generalists, so make sure you're prepared to... stand out.

Not just as a specialist, but as a well-rounded software developer:

with expertise in multiple areas
who's an excellent communicator
who's always the first to volunteer for challenging projects
who's curious, highly trainable and extremely adaptable

In other words: to stay competitive you'll need to go from having in-depth expertise in one area, to... having a broad breadth of knowledge and multiple expertise areas.

6. The Workplace of the Future: AI + HI (Human Intelligence)

In the end, perfecting/developing the crucial skills in the age of AI comes down to this common sense criterion:

Invest in honing those skills that enable you, as a software developer, to collaborate with different AI agents.

The workforce of the future will not be focused exclusively on human intelligence (not anymore) or on AI, but on... collaborative intelligence.

In other words: let AI empower you in your work, perfect those skills that machines can't automate and... learn to collaborate with AI systems.

Photo by Franck V. on Unsplash.

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You Have Your List of Web Accessibility Issues: What Do You Fix First? 8 Simple Ways to Prioritize Accessibility Problems

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Adriana Cacoveanu / Mar 27'2020

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What Are the 10 Rules of Good UI Design? What Is Good UI/UX Design?

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Use Familiar UI Elements: One of the Key Rules of Good UI Design One of the UI best practices that's both: the easiest to implement the most underestimated And it all comes down to intuitive design. To sticking to common elements when creating your user interface. Again, the hamburger menu makes the best example: once spotted, the user knows what it is and how to open it. Restrain yourself from showing off your creativity as a web designer. From being "discouragingly" innovative. Form should follow function, remember?Instead of impressing your users, you should help them get things done quickly and easily. That's what delivering a good user experience is all about, after all. 6. Put the User in Control of the UI Instilling a sense of control in the user is one of the most powerful UI design principles. Source: xd.adobe.com In this respect, here are some specific measures that you can implement: 6.1. Provide enough context Ensure that the user knows, at each stage of his journey on your website, where he is, where he's been, and where he could go next. Tip: place visual cues to help the user develop a sense of mastery and control. 6.2. Be transparent about the system status Another one of those golden rules of good UI design: Let the user know, at all times, what's the status of the process that he's initiated. For instance, he/she might have started an action that requires some time for the computer to carry out. In this case, make sure you provide feedback, at regular intervals, about the system status, about what's going on. 6.3. Make actions reversible In other words, allow users to: unselect undo their last actions restart whatever processes that they've engaged in 6.4. Design your UI with all user skill levels in mind And this is one of the most obvious characteristics of a good UI design. It's an easy to use interface for both casual and expert-level users. 6.5. 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Tip: Facebook and WhatsApp make some good UI design examples; their interfaces require a limited number of user gestures. Pro tip: make sure it's crystal clear to your users what gestures they need to perform in order to carry out certain actions on your interface. Source: Medium.com The END! Now, I'm really curious to hear/read your thoughts: How does your own list of must-follow rules of good UI design look like? Have I overlooked any key best practices? Let me know in the comments below.Image by FiveFlowersForFamilyFirst from Pixabay ... Read more

Silviu Serdaru / Mar 17'2020

Must-Have Skills in the Age of AI: Stay Relevant and Competitive as a Developer

1. Understanding AI and Its Disruptive Power

2. Thriving in the Age of Automation: Upskill Yourself

3. Skills in the Age of AI that Can't Be Automated