Firms urged to upskill workers amid potential AI-driven job losses

Companies should upskill their employees for higher-value tasks to stay competitive and mitigate the risk of job losses driven by artificial intelligence (AI), according to a top official from U.S.-based software company Salesforce.

“I think there are opportunities for customers and companies to reimagine where they use humans and where they use autonomous agents, and to move humans into higher-value tasks,” Gavin Barfield, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Solutions at Salesforce, said during his presentation.

Mr. Barfield said that AI should augment human workers, not replace them.

For instance, in customer service, Mr. Barfield said that human employees can be trained to focus on higher-value tasks that require greater levels of trust, security, or empathy.

Meanwhile, agentic AI platforms like Salesforce’s Agentforce can autonomously handle basic and repetitive customer service processes.

By augmenting humans with AI, Mr. Barfield said, companies can improve productivity and enhance customer satisfaction since wait times will be shorter.

A 2025 LinkedIn report projects that by 2030, 70% of job skills will change due to the impact of artificial intelligence.

It also reported a rise in employees adding AI skills to their LinkedIn profiles, with growth ranging from 12 times in Germany to over 80 times in the United Arab Emirates since 2016.

Of the companies that have adopted AI, such as generative AI, the report also said  51% have seen a revenue increase of 10% or more.

For human employees, Mr. Barfield said it is high time to adapt to AI, emphasizing that AI is not their competition—rather, it is for those who know how to use AI.

“Because it will be the people who can use AI effectively who get to boost their productivity and get things done that will excel. Those who don’t use AI, who still try to do things manually and aren’t able to use the technology, may struggle,” he said.

Online job platform JobStreet’s 2024 report said that 46% of Filipinos are already using AI for work—above the global average of 39%.

Also, the Philippines could see up to P2.8 trillion in economic benefits from artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030, according to global tech advisory firm Access Partnership. – Edg Adrian A. Eva