The Future of Work: What Employers Will Seek in 2026 Amid AI Advancements
The job market is undergoing rapid transformation due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), shifting hiring criteria from mere task execution to the ability to provide added value in a collaborative environment between humans and machines.
According to Daniela Rus, director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT, this question has become crucial for job candidates to address by the year 2026.
The impact of AI is already visible in productivity data, as noted by Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, who indicated that large companies are becoming cautious in their hiring practices due to technological advancements, achieving significant productivity gains.
However, the situation varies; while some companies are reducing their workforce, others are expanding their teams under new conditions.
Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, stated at the CES conference in Las Vegas:
"We are not hiring fewer people, but rather hiring different people... Individuals with advanced AI mindsets."
* New Skills or Job Losses?
Last year saw a wave of layoffs at major companies like Shopify, Accenture, and Fiverr, yet these firms also encouraged employees to enhance their AI skills to remain competitive in the job market.
Micha Kaufman, CEO of Fiverr, remarked:
"Our encouragement for teams to deepen their AI skills was not symbolic but a recognition that AI is reshaping every industry."
Companies are focusing on AI taking over routine tasks, allowing humans to concentrate on creativity, judgment, and complex decision-making, marking a shift from "substitution" to "enhancement."
However, experts warn that these promises may mask cost-cutting objectives, with Rus emphasizing that the transition to AI involves not just efficiency but also trust and transparency, cautioning against the potential erosion of human skills rather than their enhancement.
* Concerns About Training Competitors
Kaufman highlighted a common concern among employees:
"People may fear they are training tools that will replace them, but the reality is that those who learn to manage AI and improve its outcomes become the engineers of the next generation of work."
A Fiverr report for 2024 revealed that 40% of freelancers use AI tools, saving over 8 hours a week, while achieving better quality and higher pay.
* Historical Context for Reassurance
A study from the Budget Lab at Yale indicates that the job market has not experienced widespread disruption since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, asserting that significant technological transformations require decades, not years, to fully manifest.
A report from McKinsey suggests that AI could theoretically automate more than half of the working hours in the United States, but this does not necessarily equate to job losses; rather, it implies a reconfiguration of roles that depend on human-machine collaboration.
Even companies adopting an "AI-first" policy have encountered challenges:
The company Klarna laid off 40% of its staff but was later compelled to rehire some employees after a decline in customer service quality.
Professor Armando Solar Lezama from MIT explains:
"Organizations are designed to handle human errors, not AI errors, and adapting to this will take time."
