Human skills that will become more valuable in an AI economy

By: Shelby Campbell, Edited by: Joey Morris

Published: September 5, 2025

Artificial intelligence (AI) programs are only getting more advanced with every new tool and upgrade released. Research by edX suggests that for many people, the rapid adoption of AI signals a need to add AI tools to their skill sets.

However, the AI revolution hasn't made human skills any less essential for the modern workplace. In fact, human-centric skills like communication, adaptability, and creativity may become even more valuable.

Learn about what human skills are growing in the job market and how to develop them on edX.

Why human skills matter more than ever

Soft skills, also called human skills, are the interpersonal attributes that make up our personalities. AI provides value by automating tedious or menial work that doesn't necessarily require these human capabilities, often tasks like data cleanup or writing code.

Without human skills like analytics, ethical reasoning, and decision-making, AI's insights would have no meaning or value.

As a result, humans shouldn't expect AI to replace them entirely. AI may complement human skills rather than compete with them, and employers will continue to need people who can connect AI insights to real-world problems.

The most essential human skills in the age of AI

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence refers to the capacity to understand and manage emotions — both in yourself and in others. Although there's still much debate about the definition of emotional intelligence and what it encompasses, researchers generally agree that it involves using emotions to connect and empathize with others.

AI, whether it's generative or agentic, can't "feel" like a human. Therefore, it can't understand emotions or tailor its response like a human can.

An AI chatbot may mimic the "correct" emotional response when you express complex feelings like sadness or anger, which can potentially cause serious harm. But its responses are generated using data trends instead of genuine care or understanding. A human with emotional intelligence can thoroughly understand the root causes of emotions to connect, empathize, and respond without discouraging or upsetting their peers.

Leadership

Leadership is the ability to motivate and guide others toward collaborative success. Workplace leaders are often responsible for ensuring teams stay engaged in their work. There are many types of leadership, and all of them bring value to the modern workplace.

While AI can contribute to success by providing insights and completing routine tasks quickly, it can't intrinsically motivate teammates to strive for success. Leaders must develop personal relationships with their teams to understand what motivates each person and how their strengths can contribute to their team's overall success.

Problem-solving

Problem-solving involves finding solutions to issues that arise during everyday work. Chatbots and generative AI are increasingly useful in assisting humans as they create solutions, but problem-solving ultimately requires independently recognizing a problem, understanding context, and making informed decisions — all uniquely human capabilities.

Often, humans have emotional responses to problems, which sparks the desire to solve them. While AI can notice inaccuracies or irregularities, it wouldn't become "annoyed" like a human would when a process bottlenecks or an essential technology fails. As a result, it wouldn't be motivated to solve problems independently.

Communication

Communication, as a skill, refers to the ability to clearly share your ideas with others. When you're prompting an AI model to provide an output, you're communicating. And the clearer and more concise your communication, the easier it is for the model to create a practical response.

The same goes for face-to-face communication. AI can certainly help you draft an email, a speech, or an article, but it doesn't have the situational awareness that allows humans to process and respond appropriately to our peers.

Additionally, humans must employ communication skills to ensure AI drafts are socially acceptable, factually accurate, and contextually suitable.

Creativity

Creativity, the ability to ideate beyond the obvious, is an essential human skill. It's a major driving force behind art and science alike, propelling us forward and inspiring us to dream beyond what already is.

Because AI generates its responses using scraped data, it can use that data to predict what may connect with people. However, it cannot truly comprehend what makes people consider something beautiful or interesting.

It also can't follow natural curiosity or inspiration to create something new. Therefore, human creativity is often the link between an AI's raw output and meaningful work.

Your next steps on edX

Ready to level up your human skills? Explore edX's Executive Education and leadership courses and enroll online today to build critical soft skills for the modern job market: