The skills people still perform better than AI, according to workplace experts
NEW YORK, June 11, 2026 (AP) — Many workers fear machines will supplant them as adoption of AI (artificial intelligence) accelerates. But what if people have qualities both unmistakably human and essential to career success that AI could not easily replace them? Some workplace experts argue that with more businesses adopting AI tools, soft skills such as empathy, critical thinking and ethical decision-making are worth cultivating to help employees become indispensible. Across industries and occupations, “the skills that are most resistant to displacement by AI are the ones that are the most distinctly human,” Maria Flynn, president and CEO of