Future of Work Podcast: Humans and Machines - Redefining Work in the AI Age

Discover how AI is putting skills front and centre in the future of work with insights from Head of LinkedIn UK Janine Chamberlin on the Future of Work podcast.

Workday Podcast | Humans and Machines: Redefining Work in the AI Age
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You can listen to this episode as audio only on SoundcloudSpotify and Apple Podcasts.

Technological change is a constant in the business world. From mobile phones, to the internet, to social media, to the cloud, new technologies have continuously reshaped how businesses operate and how teams connect. But few innovations have altered business as swiftly as artificial intelligence.

According to LinkedIn’s 2025 Work Change Report, AI will transform 70% of the skills we use in our roles by 2030. Already, LinkedIn members are working to keep pace; since 2022, the rate at which they add new skills to their profiles has jumped 140%.

I recently sat down with Head of LinkedIn UK, Janine Chamberlin, to unpack what this seismic shift means for UK organisations and how leaders can prepare for an AI-powered future of work.

AI Adoption Starts with Leaders

The true measure of AI’s impact is in the ways people apply it. Janine points to three questions every leader must answer now: How should I be using AI as a leader? How do I get my team to embrace AI? What’s holding people back?

“I’ve spent the last 18-24 months thinking about what [AI] means for customers, teams, and leaders in their day-to-day work,” Janine explains. “I’ve asked leaders how they’re using AI day to day, and many said they estimate they use it in less than 5% of their work.”  

This gap matters. Leaders using AI in their own work and serving as role models for adoption is crucial. As leaders consider where AI belongs in their workflows and encourage employees to get on board, they must be first-movers to adopt AI into their own processes and show firsthand how it makes a positive impact. 

Hybrid AI and Human Workforces Emerge

AI’s integration into enterprise operations is creating a true hybrid workforce where humans and machines collaborate across tasks. Preparing for this future comes down to adaptability—and for leaders, adaptability is driven by understanding their own current workforce and anticipating how it will change going forward.

“The way we’re looking at it is that every job is not just a title, but a collection of tasks that needs to be done,” Janine explains. “When you break jobs down into tasks, you start to see where they can be automated or augmented by AI and where they require unique human skills.”

And although automation inevitably raises questions about job displacement, Janine emphasises that AI ultimately strengthens the human workforce. 

LinkedIn’s Work Change Report shows that as AI adoption has climbed, the value placed on human skills has grown by 10% since 2018. That number jumps to 20% in jobs where soft skills were once less critical.

Importantly, human traits like curiosity and creativity make us more effective AI partners, fueling stronger prompt engineering and adaptability. Professionals who develop AI skills are 13X more likely to embrace change readiness and 5X more likely to develop strong logical reasoning, according to LinkedIn's reserach.

At LinkedIn, for example, AI recruitment agents now save recruiters one full workday each week, freeing them to invest in areas where they’re uniquely capable as humans, like creativity, relationship building, communication, and innovation. 

Planning for a Skills-Based Future of Work

Successful partnership between humans and AI machines hinges on leaders who recognise the opportunity to transform skills within their workforce and take effective action.

“I see companies being thoughtful about the skills they need to progress their organisations and creating a strategy for building those skills,” Janine shares. “They’re thinking about either upskilling or reskilling their workforces or buying those skills via hiring or outsourcing to external sources. Either way, it’s really about being more focused on skills and less on job titles and credentials of the past.”

For individuals, continuous learning is crucial to this end. Career planning can no longer be focused on gaining skillsets to use for decades ahead. Instead, it’s about asking: “What’s the starting point for me?” and continuously building new skills upon that over time.

This shift has forced a new focus on skills-based hiring. As skills continue to change rapidly, a resume with years-old accomplishments is no longer relevant. Instead, leaders need to consider how employees can contribute now and in the future.

“AI is a leveler right now,” says Janine, “And it will allow people to go through their careers in a less linear way than in the past.”

Balancing AI and Human Skills

Leading organisations are finding ways to balance AI adoption and technical advancement with a strong focus on developing and nurturing human skills. They’re training employees to be AI literate while teaching them to communicate well, be proactive problem solvers, be creative, and build relationships.

And while organisations often think more about how they’ll develop AI skills first, more and more are finding they’re behind when it comes to human-centered abilities. LinkedIn learned that some companies are slowing their AI rollouts to first establish the communication, collaboration, and creativity skills needed to use it effectively.

Notably, AI can be an effective coach for human skill development. LinkedIn Learning solutions, for example, have an AI coach built-in to help people prepare for important conversations.

AI can provide feedback and role play for individuals looking to improve communication skills in certain areas. AI is also a powerful brainstorming tool, enhancing ideation and empowering employees to practice creativity with AI as a trusted partner.

According to Janine: “AI is like an anonymous way to test. It’s a safe space and partner for individuals at work.”

By maintaining a dual focus on AI and human skills and fostering collaboration between AI and human workers to enhance the process, organisations can build employee trust with new tools and reinforce their commitment to employee development even as AI adoption accelerates.

What’s Next on the Horizon

Employers aren’t the only ones driving AI adoption and growth across the UK workforce. As a top-five nation globally from an AI skills perspective, government entities are thinking about how to maintain the UK's position and support organisations who lead the way.

“Every industry is adopting AI in some way, shape, or form,” Janine shares. “The impact is going to be across all jobs and industries—certain elements of all jobs can be augmented by AI. And while AI is a way to drive productivity and efficiency, 80% of business leaders see AI as a way to drive innovation.”

As AI continues to rapidly advance, the most successful organisations won’t be those racing to automate every task, but those that skillfully blend human ingenuity with AI capabilities. Leaders who role-model AI adoption, break jobs into tasks, and invest in both technical and human skills will unlock new levels of productivity—and creativity—across their teams. 

The path won’t always be smooth, but by creating space for learning, experimentation, and feedback, leaders can build workforces not just prepared for change, but excited by it. After all, the AI age isn’t about humans or machines—it’s about what they can achieve together.

The AI skills revolution is here. Read our report Elevating Human Potential: The AI Skills Revolution to discover how AI will reshape work, learning, and skills development—and why the forward thinkers embracing this technology are already a step ahead.

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