Will AI replace human jobs? It’s a controversial question that starts heated debates in various tech communities. Programmers claim they can train the perfect AI algorithm, while creatives believe technology cannot produce original or unique ideas.

Whatever the case, AI will impact business processes across various industries. Start upskilling if you want to remain hirable. In this article, we’ll share seven future-proof technical skills that present-day AI can’t wholly automate.

1. Programming and Coding

Although AI already writes code and develops programs, it simply scans existing databases for reference. At a basic level, AI only automates grunt work. You’ll still need human intervention to accomplish breakthroughs and execute more sophisticated lines of code.

For instance, strong AI tech can launch search-based apps. However, you can’t rely on it to create a fully functional social media platform that introduces new features and systems. Familiarize yourself with different programming languages. See how they integrate with system architecture, software design, programming proficiency, and software security.

Also, put your learnings to the test. Launch different apps and sites, test them out on different coding platforms, and then gather the ones that you can showcase to employers.

Another way to future-proof your coding career is to learn technical skills for training AI technologies. Tech companies pay top dollar for AI development. Machine intelligence streamlines AI building, but letting it code, optimize, and develop an innovative program alone might not yield results.

2. Content Writing

With the advancement of AI writing tools, some people believe that they can already replace content writers and copywriters altogether. AI has definitely come a long way. Even free platforms can generate a 1,000-word coherent, grammatically correct piece within two minutes, while a human writer needs around three hours for the same task.

Despite these developments, AI can’t wholly replace human writers yet. AI language models like GPT-3 generate human-like phrases by analyzing and scraping millions of relevant, ranked web pages. It can’t produce original, unique ideas. AI-generated text is coherent and grammatically correct, but it also might sound stiff and unoriginal.

Take the above picture as an example. Albeit the grammar is nearly perfect, you’ll notice that the actual contents comprise generic, overused advice that readers can see anywhere else.

3. PR, Marketing, and Advertising

Technically, you can use AI to create full-scale marketing campaigns. Several AI sites generate images, draft text, and pull ad insights, among other tasks involved in preparing ads. All you’ll need to do is run and fund the campaign.

Although convenient, launching a full-scale marketing strategy using AI-generated assets won’t generate positive results. You need original, unique content that resonates with your target market. AI only scrapes information from third parties, so it likely won’t know what your ideal buyer persona needs.

Invest in your marketing assets. You must post original images, publish unique sales copies, and follow proven marketing strategies to catch the attention of your target market. Otherwise, your brand will come off as spammy and generic. Keep in mind that consumers regularly receive hundreds of ads across different platforms, so you must stand out from the competition.

4. Website Building

AI systems launch websites quickly. If you use AI-generated copies and stock photos, you could get your site up and running within a few hours. Just drag and drop page elements into your site builder—no need to code anything.

While templates and AI-generated assets streamline site building, they look generic. Millions of sites use them. Visitors will likely be less inclined to trust a business if its site looks like that of a cheeky, spammy marketer.

For this reason, brands will continue to hire website developers. Learn to encode useful page elements, practice coming up with unique layouts, and partner with creatives (i.e., copywriters and graphic designers).

5. Blockchain Development

With the proper algorithm in place, an AI system could run through smart contracts containing thousands of lines of code within minutes. Alternatively, coders will need days to finish the same task.

Despite this difference in speed, AI technologies can’t wholly replace human coders yet. Tech companies still need humans to code sophisticated algorithms, spot system inconsistencies, test out beta products, and come up with new ideas. Offloading blockchain development to present-day AI will only impede innovation.

To stay relevant in the blockchain industry, level up your skills and learn new techniques. Avoid tasks that AI can already automate. And instead, try reverse engineering widely used blockchains and practice applying your learnings through self-executed smart contracts.

6. High-Ticket Sales

Strong AI systems can automate the inventory of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), pull insights on top-selling products, and automatically upload listings, but they can’t sell. Selling requires a human touch. Using chatbots that produce generic, overused spiels won’t warm up cold leads and get them through the sales funnel.

To ensure you stay hirable, improve your sales system. Study the limitations of AI technologies and develop skills that compensate for them. Also, focus on a niche. Instead of bouncing between different products, research your preferred industry’s target market and consumer trends.

7. Graphic Designing

With AI art generators, even someone with no art experience can create seemingly professional pieces. Take DALL-E 2 as an example. It generates customized artwork based on any text description or image that you upload. The below photo shows the results from the text, “funny Shiba in burger.”

However, AI doesn’t generate original artwork. You can’t use AI-generated pieces for commercial or editorial purposes. AI comes up with illustrations by scanning third-party images that match input descriptions, most of them likely have copyright protection. At most, you could probably upload them on social media, although you can’t claim ownership.

Future-Proof Your Career by Mastering Indispensable Hard Skills

Although AI can replicate the human mind to an extent, it is far from capable of performing complex, creative tasks autonomously. Even strong AI tech will need human intervention. Instead of worrying about AI replacing you, work toward honing your skills and producing original output that machine intelligence can’t copy.

With that said, you don’t necessarily need to beat AI. Embrace the advantages of AI technologies and see how they can improve your daily life. Automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks. You’d be surprised at how much time you waste importing assets, managing systems, and researching key insights.