LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky As artificial intelligence transforms the job market, workers face serious disruptions, but those who embrace human skills say they can survive the transition. “It's Polianna who believes this transition will happen easily,” Roslanski said in a recent interview. “There will be a lot of confusion. There will be a lot of uncertainty along the way.”The CEO, who oversees LinkedIn's growth to $7 billion to $17 billion over five years, said Amazon's recent announcement that it expects workforce cuts due to AI adoption to wider changes. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees this week that AI will cut staff because it “acquires efficiency through widespread use of AI.”
Don't bury your head in the sand
The first advice for Roslansky workers is simple. Instead of ignoring it, acknowledge the reality of AI's impact.“You can't just say, 'What is this?' You really have to jump into it and adapt,” he said. LinkedIn data has increased AI-related skill requirements by six times in job postings over the past year, and members who add AI skills to their profiles jump 20 times.
Lean on the human skills that distinguish you
Despite AI's capabilities, Roslansky believes that human skills continue to be an important differentiator in an automated world.“Whatever you're unique about yourself, lean towards it. Communication, collaboration, all of that, you're really good at it,” he advised. “It might help you stand out in real life.”The LinkedIn platform itself illustrates the limitations of AI in human interaction. While AI can effectively identify potential job seekers in LinkedIn's Billion User Database, Roslansky said he failed more nuanced tasks, such as persuading someone to change jobs.
Expect a “super messy center” before things get better
Roslansky is optimistic about the long-term potential of AI to solve key problems and democratize business creation, but warns that transition periods will be difficult.“It usually becomes a much better, a surprising place, as was the case in the paradigm shift in the historic labor market,” he said. “But there's this very annoying middle, and I think that's going to be the case with AI.”The CEO hopes that LinkedIn can mitigate this transition by linking workers with learning opportunities and career transitions, as the job market evolves.
