Looking BACK, TO REIMAGINE NEW SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE.

Despite recruiters' claims, 'up-skilling’ in the ordinary sense seems lacking in purpose.

For me, there’s no artistry or wonder in ‘another’ online certification or MBA AI Sprint (and whatnot).

As the digital labour revolution fans out, I’ve decided to look back for inspiration and redefine a list of treasured human skills worth devoting our time to.

IMAGE: Mosaicists at work, El Alia (Uzalis), Tunisia, ca. 2nd century A.D., Roman. National Bardo Museum, Tunisia. Photo: Will Wootton.

This topic makes my brain light up.

As I sit typing on my couch, I hear the echo of bird song and road traffic. Today is much like yesterday; autumn's cool spell is here. It’s my ‘off-day’ between job interviews. I’m wearing yoga pants, long socks, and no makeup. The world’s atmosphere and labour market feel strange. In Sydney, there’s an oversupply of talent and an undersupply of jobs, so I am where I am.

With the gift of free time, I’ve had many ideas that have had no page to wreak havoc on. But this topic has been rolling in my thoughts for weeks:

What kind of up-skilling should humans devote themselves to?

Due to AI development, some roles I could apply for seem short-sighted about the future, propelling me to shut my laptop. The skills listed don’t mirror the skills that I believe humans will need. H

How long will these kinds of roles last? Where is this current hedonic treadmill leading to?

This motivated me to explore and define skills that AI can’t steal. To do so, I’ve conjured up a new name for each. They’re based on the potential needs in an AI world and the essence of human talent drawn from historical figures.

1# MOOD-SETTING.

While AI will eventually be believably expressive, it won’t have a sense of taste and mood that humans can set.

AI's expression, whether ‘emotional’ or not, is in danger of feeling shallow, technocratic, or void of value to the human soul.

As jobs become automated, reduced, or distilled, the human skill of mood-setting will become far more valuable and meaningful...

I define ‘MOOD-SETTING’ as the ability to set a distinct tone, feeling, sensibility, or essence in one’s work.

This is a broad definition, as it’s universal and can be applied individually in exponential ways.

Consequently, the human-owned skill of mood-setting might create a ‘vibe’ and magnetise attention.

Even better, mood-setting will ripple effect, inspiring or transforming hearts and minds like some of history's greatest poets, architects, musicians, and painters.

To understand how to up-skill in mood setting, we can learn a lot from the O.G. and legendary mood setters from history, who did more than commoditise their craft for Instagram.

Let’s start with Rome’s iconic Poet, Virgil (Vergil).

What can we learn from a Roman who died in 19 BCE? Virgil’s incredible Mood-Setting ability rested on his obsession with imaginary worlds, moral lessons, and mirroring of current virtues.

Aged five, from a poor farming family in Northern Italy, he was sent to Rome to study rhetoric, medicine, philosophy, and astronomy (all valuable topics to study in the AI age).

Within a few decades, he was an astonishingly well-read poet, capable of writing dactylic hexameters.

This isn’t a history lesson. Let’s skip to his last and most notable Latin work, Aeneid.

It was an epic poem in 12 books, telling the story of Rome's foundation from the ashes of Troy. I’ll spare the details. But it revealed a powerful divine lesson: that fate always wins for gods and mortals.

The artistry of mood-setting for Virgil wasn’t merely the creative act or outstanding poetry writing.

It was the skill of mirroring and expressing the real tone of the time. He cleverly explored how Romans saw themselves and the universal pathos of human suffering.

While a tragic story with a violent end, this text sets Rome's tone as we understand it today (sensibility, feeling, and nature), whether somewhat mythic or real.

While you are not living in ancient Rome like the old’ tragic and melancholic Virgil,’ what might he help you understand about mood-setting and its power?

Could you hone your ability to mirror and express your feelings, sensibilities, and moral questions?

AI can’t steal or replicate these things, so why not put your time into honing the skill of modern-day mood-setting?

To be continued…