Today, rapidly developing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are leading to profound changes in the business world while also redefining the fundamental skills individuals need to possess.
Addressing the essential AI skills employees should have, Software Engineer Dr. Mehmet Kaan İldiz said: “Those who do not enhance their professional performance with AI will not be able to deliver the expected performance outputs (reports, results, etc.) of their professions and will fall behind in this transformation. For a short while, you may get by even if you lag behind, but once the transformation fully takes place, you may lose your job.”
On the place that “hybrid professions,” where humans and AI work together, will hold in the future, Dr. İldiz explained: “The definition of a hybrid profession is shaped by how much you can adapt to AI, how you integrate it into your life, and the boundaries you set with your professional expertise. This can provide a future where we do not lose our human aspects but continue to grow, both for ourselves and for our world.”
Dr. Mehmet Kaan İldiz, Assistant Professor at the Department of Software Engineering (English), Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Üsküdar University, evaluated the importance of AI literacy and the future of “hybrid professions.”
Updating oneself, thinking fast, improving…
Highlighting that the routines required by the concept of literacy have greatly changed, Dr. İldiz said: “The more up-to-date your literacy skills are, the faster you can think and improve yourself. The most current example today is AI literacy. Transferring your existing academic skills into these applications and not undermining the learning process is the most important transition criterion. The way we incorporate developing technologies into our everyday lives also transforms the way we improve ourselves.”
Not handing over expertise, but handling what holds you back…
On the topic of essential AI skills employees should have, Dr. İldiz said: “The most important part begins with distinguishing between job-specific requirements and general business tasks. While showcasing your expertise, if you can delegate routine office tasks correctly with AI and save time, would you prefer to hand over your expertise, or would you rather have the tasks that hold back your expertise handled more quickly? The answer you give to this question starts the fundamental equation that defines your expectations from AI and enables you to enhance your own performance.”
Dr. İldiz emphasized that the core skill is to define a workload or line of work suitable for AI.
When transformation happens, you may lose your job!
Dr. İldiz warned: “Those who do not enhance their professional performance with AI will not be able to deliver the expected performance outputs (reports, results, etc.) of their professions and will fall behind in this transformation. For a short while, you may get by even if you lag behind, but once the transformation fully takes place, you may lose your job.”
In which professions does integration happen the fastest?
Addressing the professions where the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) occurs most rapidly, Asst. Prof. Mehmet Kaan İldiz said: “The fastest transformation happens within the system itself. The higher the reliability of AI outputs in its field of use, the more applicable and acceptable it becomes. Ethical debates are particularly common in fields such as law and healthcare. What matters here is defining the purpose of integration and adopting an AI approach specific to each sector. Over time, this will influence countries and the global order, creating a sense of universality in the areas where it is accepted.”
The changing role of AI in professions
Detailing how AI’s function is evolving in professions such as doctors, teachers, engineers, journalists, and lawyers, Dr. İldiz continued: “AI can perform calculations within limits that support a doctor’s decision-making process (such as diagnosis or adjusting medication dosage). It can help a teacher develop presentation and teaching tools from documents updated each term or month. For an engineer, it can detect and resolve faulty lines of code without the need to search for hours. It can read a journalist’s text and refine it to increase readership while also supporting the article with AI-generated visuals that reduce copyright costs. For a lawyer, it can analyze statements in a case file by comparing them with the law and past trial records to assess whether the statement is effective. Contributions of generative AI can, of course, be applied across all professions, but the most important point is not to undermine professional boundaries and decision-making authority.”
Efficiency and decision-making in work processes
Explaining how AI use impacts efficiency and decision-making processes, Dr. İldiz said: “Recording repetitive tasks that consume a lot of time in our routines into a written format and digitally archiving them is one of the basic requirements for AI efficiency. The more you make your data understandable and processable, the more you can ensure that all the decisions you make using your expertise, and all the outputs you obtain as a result, provide you with the desired benefit.”
The union of humans and AI: “hybrid professions”
Regarding the future role of “hybrid professions,” where humans and AI work together, Dr. İldiz said: In today’s world, where you can practice your profession with an AI-supported robot that you can talk to vocally, discuss what you see visually in real time, or even control remotely with different types of joysticks, the definition of a hybrid profession is shaped by how much you can adapt to AI, how you accept it into your life, and the boundaries you draw with your professional expertise. This can provide a future in which we preserve our human aspects and continue to grow, both for ourselves and for our world.”