Why artificial intelligence needs human skills
Key points:
- • South Carolina’s life sciences industry is experiencing rapid investment and job growth.
- • Universities are driving commercialization and early-stage company development.
- • Talent, capital, and lab infrastructure are critical to sustaining momentum.
October 2026 — As artificial intelligence becomes a standard tool across classrooms and workplaces, business and industry leaders are preparing employees and students to use AI alongside the human skills that remain essential for good decision-making.
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Across sectors, organizations are emphasizing critical thinking, sound judgment, and the ability to evaluate information as they teach people how to incorporate AI into their work. Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index found that 50% of AI users consider quality control of AI output an increasingly important skill, while 46% point to critical thinking. The report also found that 86% of AI users treat AI-generated output as a starting point rather than a final answer.
That approach is increasingly extending into education, where the goal is to ensure that AI supports learning rather than replaces the thinking required to achieve it. The OECD’s 2026 AI Literacy Framework calls for students to develop the ability to understand AI systems, critically evaluate their outputs, and use them responsibly. Its Digital Education Outlook 2026 similarly warns that simply outsourcing cognitive tasks to AI can improve performance without producing meaningful learning, while purposeful use can strengthen skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. At the same time, as AI takes on more routine work, the work left to people can require greater judgment and critical thinking.
The larger challenge is teaching people when to rely on technology, when to question it, and when human judgment needs to take the lead. Invest: approached leaders from different markets to understand how they are implementing balance across education, professional services, and other industries adapting to an AI-enabled workforce.
Daphane Carter, Executive Director, Genesys Works
Houston’s workforce is being reshaped by three converging forces: artificial intelligence, an aging workforce, and employers being asked to do more with fewer resources. Organizations aren’t simply hiring differently; they’re redefining what entry-level talent needs to know on day one.
First, we are training and coaching young people to embrace AI and work alongside it. AI should never think for you; it should think with you. We are emphasizing power skills such as initiative, critical thinking, and sound judgment because those skills remain essential when working with AI.
Richard Ramsey, Managing Partner, Wicker Smith
Artificial intelligence is a burgeoning issue in the legal field, and it is controversial. It has tremendous advantages, but there are also scary aspects that we are still grappling with.
When AI technology is good, it is fantastic. It can take a thousand pages of medical records, and within seconds, you can target certain information. That makes us much more efficient.
We have to make sure our lawyers are educated. “Do not ever use AI when drafting important legal documents for submission to the court.” Knock on wood, we have not had that happen, but it is always a scary prospect.
Josh White, Shareholder, Elliott Davis
We are actively using AI and automation, both within the firm and in how we serve customers. But our top priority is making sure we take a strategic approach. That includes being thoughtful about which tools we adopt, how we train our teams, and how we help customers navigate their own adoption efforts.
The pace of innovation is accelerating, and expectations around AI continue to rise. But moving too quickly, without the right foundation, can create unnecessary risk. Our focus is on staying curious, staying engaged, and moving with intention.
We are looking at where AI and automation can drive real value, not just in terms of efficiency, but in enabling better insights and scalable solutions.
Paulette Dillard, President & CEO, Shaw University
I have attended several conferences on AI and participated in panels discussing its impact on higher education. I have been asked whether it is a blessing or a curse, and I tell people it is a tool.
In the hands of individuals who are taught how to use that tool, AI has amazing potential. But if it is used to displace humanity without guardrails, then it is not a great thing. It is the responsibility of universities to introduce AI as a tool, not a crutch. The driver of that tool is still the human mind.
People need guidelines on when they can and cannot use it, and they also need to know how to verify the information they receive.
If everybody is not equally allowed to embrace AI, you create one more scenario of haves and have-nots. Universities, public schools, and all of us have to figure this out. We’ve got to be able to prepare individuals to exist in a world that will have AI.
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