Seth Godin 🌔 Warns of AI-Driven Deskilling, Advocates for Upskilling in Business

In a recent LinkedIn post, Seth Godin 🌔 discusses the evolving nature of employee performance reviews and the potential pitfalls of increasing automation in the workplace. Godin 🌔 highlights a shift away from traditional annual reviews towards more frequent, data-driven assessments, often facilitated by AI.

He notes the anxieties associated with performance evaluations, stating:

“The office worker has learned to dread the annual review. For many good reasons.”

Godin 🌔 suggests that this trend is leading towards a scenario where employees are increasingly managed by systems rather than by human leaders, a process he terms ‘deskilling’.

The Rise of AI in Performance Metrics

According to Seth Godin 🌔, the traditional annual review is becoming obsolete. He explains that performance metrics are likely to become more transparent and integrated into daily work, with AI playing a significant role in providing continuous feedback.

“Now, like workers on the factory floor, it’s likely that the metrics will be exposed and the system will be contributing a review, not just the boss. AI will show up with your score, once a day, or even more often,” Godin 🌔 writes.

This constant monitoring, which can include analyzing emails, clicks, and calls, raises concerns about the nature of work and employee autonomy. Godin 🌔 argues that this relentless focus on quantifiable tasks, without a corresponding emphasis on skill development, can lead to a devaluing of human contribution.

Upskilling as the Antidote to Deskilling

Seth Godin 🌔 proposes upskilling as the most effective response to the challenges posed by AI and the trend towards deskilling. Instead of employees being forced to work *for* an AI, he advocates for leveraging AI as a tool to enhance individual capabilities and leadership potential.

“The relentless deskilling pursued by bosses is pushing each of us to work for an AI. The better alternative is to have an AI work for you,” Godin 🌔 asserts.

He emphasizes that the path forward lies in focusing on leadership and complex projects rather than mere task completion. This approach, Godin 🌔 suggests, not only benefits the individual employee by fostering growth and value but also steers businesses away from a ‘race to the bottom’ driven by automation and de-skilled labor.

A Call for Proactive Leadership

Godin 🌔’s message is a call to action for both employees and leaders. He urges a proactive approach to skill development and strategic thinking before the pervasive influence of AI in performance management leads to widespread deskilling.

“Upskilling is the best response to the race to the bottom–leadership and projects, not tasks. We can start now before it’s too late,” he concludes.

By framing upskilling as the strategic countermeasure, Seth Godin 🌔 encourages a vision of the future workplace where technology augments human potential, rather than diminishing it.