Amazon Web Services CEO: I told my own teenager to develop this No. 1 'most important skill' to succeed in the AI age
As more artificial intelligence-powered tools get integrated into the workplace, employers will prioritize hiring workers with "soft skills" like creativity and adaptability, Garman told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Friday. His advice to his own child, a rising high school senior, he said: Develop your critical thinking skills in college, no matter what subject you study.
"I think part of going to college is building [your] critical thinking," Garman said. "It's less about the development of skills and it really is [about] how do you become a critical thinker? In some ways, I think that's actually going to be the most important skill going forward."
Critical thinking skills will be most people's No. 1 biggest key to success in the age of AI, he added.
"You're going to want to be creative. You're going to want to be [good at] critical thinking. And you're going to want to be flexible," said Garman. "I think the ability to learn new things and adapt is going to be just as important as any particular skill that you learn."The list of skills and administrative tasks that AI tools can replicate continues to grow, seemingly each day. Amazon, Garman's employer, is among the multiple companies that have announced plans to reduce their corporate workforces while adopting more AI tools and agents in the coming years.
But AI is no match for human intellect when it comes to using critical thinking and creativity to generate new ideas and make nuanced judgments, research shows. It could be "the most valuable skill of the future" for human workers, particularly those tasked with curating and refining the output of AI tools, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said during an event hosted by Howard University in January 2024.
"AI can generate lots of great ideas, but you still need a human there to say, 'This is the thing other people want,'" said Altman.
Students can hone and apply their critical thinking skills across pretty much any area of study. Current workers can improve them through daily habits ranging from playing strategic board games to asking more questions, research shows. Multiple online courses say they'll help you improve your critical thinking and communication skills, including one offered for free through Harvard University and edX.
Once you've developed those skills, you can showcase them to your current or prospective employers by highlighting examples of difficult problems you've solved at work — or asking thoughtful, purposeful questions that reflect your curiosity and communication skills, LinkedIn career expert Andrew McCaskill told Make It in January 2022.
Garman highlighted two other important soft skills for both today and the future: the ability to smoothly adapt to new technologies, including AI-based tools and agents, and communicate effectively with colleagues and customers.
Communication is another skill where humans have a leg up over AI — particularly in terms of our ability to pick up on social cues, exhibiting empathy and emotional intelligence, actively listen, and provide insightful feedback, research shows.
"[Those skills] are important today. I think they'll be just as important, if not more important [in the future]," Garman said.
As employers make plans to integrate more and more AI tools in the workplace, recruiters are specifically targeting prospective employees with the "adaptability" to keep up with technological changes, according to a LinkedIn blog post published in February 2024.
AI tools can handle various administrative tasks, but most customers "still want to talk to a person" and get personal insights and attention from a human being, added Garman.
"Those people skills are going to continue to be super important for a long time," he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gizmodo
21 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
This Lenovo Chromebook Is Now 78% Off, Almost a Free Laptop With Accessories Included at No Extra Cost
Finding the right laptop can be a time-consuming and expensive experience. Sometimes you just want one that can do all the normal laptop stuff, like writing, spreadsheets, and watching stuff online. If you're after something that'll just get the job done, then a budget laptop is often fine, and today we've found a great deal on one. Right now, you can get the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook for just $270, which is 78% off the price that's currently listed as its full price. That's one heck of a discount, and this is a very reasonable price for a laptop that'll make sure you get your work or studying done. The deal won't last forever though, so move quickly if you want it. See at Amazon It's the season of studying, and that means now's a good time to get a laptop like this. Of course, a model with these specs is also really good for those who need a laptop to do work on here and there, or people who want to be able to make their commutes a bit more productive. There are plenty of reasons to pick this one up. This Chromebook has a 14-inch full HD screen, which means that you'll have no problems keeping an eye on reports or checking out details for essays, but it also means that you'll be able to enjoy TV shows and films from your preferred streaming services too. It's nice to be able to enjoy a device like this for both work and play, and while you're not going to be gaming on it, it's got enough power to let you relax a bit with shows and whatnot. The specs are 4GB of RAM, 64GB eMMC, and a 256GB microSD card, so you've got enough power to get through standard tasks, along with being able to store a few projects. Just keep in mind that this kind of device is designed to do most of its storing online, so you'll want to make the most of things like Google Drive if you want to do a lot of big projects. The $270 price tag makes this a pretty reasonable Chromebook for those looking to add one more device to their setup, or just people who need a laptop for the new school year. We can't imagine this kind of discount will last for very long though, so if you want it, get it quickly. See at Amazon
CNBC
22 minutes ago
- CNBC
Economist Sumerlin confirms he's in the running for Fed chair, backs big interest rate cut
Economist Marc Sumerlin, one of nearly a dozen reported contenders for Federal Reserve chair, said Thursday he'd be interested in the job and believes an aggressive interest rate cut would be appropriate. Sumerlin, a former senior economist under then-President George W. Bush, said on CNBC that lowering the Fed's key rate would be an easy decision now. The current yield structure combined with weakness in the labor market and stable inflation "tells us that we could easily do a 50 basis point cut ... without disrupting anything at all. So it seems like pretty much a no-brainer to me." A basis point equals 0.01%, so 50 basis points would be half a percentage point. With the field looking wide open to succeed current Chair Jerome Powell, Sumerlin's position on rates puts him at least directionally in line with President Donald Trump. The president has repeatedly pushed the Fed to ease, advocating cuts of up to 3 percentage points, but the Powell-led Federal Open Market Committee has kept is benchmark funds rate unchanged since last lowering in December 2024. As far as the nomination sweepstakes goes, Sumerlin, currently managing partner for Evenflow Macro, confirmed that he was contacted by the White House last week. He noted that he is close friends with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has taken a leading role in the search for the next chair, saying the two have been discussing monetary policy "weekly for probably 12 years." "I got a call last Wednesday that said there was going to be a list [and] I was going to be on it. That's as much as I know right now," he said. "I'm waiting for more guidance on where we go from here." Sumerlin indicated that he would be interested in the nomination so long as certain conditions are met. "I think if it's the Fed chair, it's mission critical to the world. You have to be willing to do that," he said. "I've never met the president before. It would depend on us seeing eye to eye." Sumerlin stressed the importance of Fed independence, something that has come under question has Trump has taken the historically unprecedented step of criticizing Powell and his fellow policymakers publicly and in stark terms. He's called Powell a "loser" and "stupid" and has criticized the FOMC for being complacent. "You have to go into it knowing that every day you're going to walk in and just do the best job you can for the American people, and you're going to get criticism and be prepared to deal with that," Sumerlin said. "Ideally, you'd want to go in knowing that you're in synch. In synch goes both ways, and that would be part of the process trying to figure it out." In addition to Sumerlin, other candidates include current governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and former Governor Kevin Warsh, along with about half a dozen others.
CNBC
22 minutes ago
- CNBC
Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Amazon, AMD, Cisco, CoreWeave, Sunrun & more
Here are Thursday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Mizuho reiterates Nvidia, Dell and Advanced Micro Devices as outperform The firm raised its price target on several semis companies on Wednesday evening. "Raising Ests/PT for NVDA to $205 (prior $192) AMD to $205 (prior $183) as Hyperscaler capex continues to tick higher, while China adds another tailwind. Raise DELL PT to $160 (prior $150) with strong Tier 2 CSP [cloud service providers] ramps. " Bank of America adds Advanced Micro Devices to the US1 list Bank of America added the stock to its top ideas list. "We are adding Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to the US 1 List." JPMorgan downgrades Li Auto neutral from overweight JPMorgan downgraded the China EV company on rising competition. "Li Auto (d/g to Neutral): We trim our 2025/26E volume and earnings by ~10-20%, reflecting the fast-changing competitive dynamic facing Li." Read more. Wells Fargo initiates Steel Dynamics as overweight Wells said it likes companies that have exposure to the U.S. "We prefer names with U.S. exposure, as we see steel prices supported by a drop in imports and inventory into year-end that can support mill pricing power. Top picks include STLD and CMC, while we're less confident in imminent relief from excess Chinese supply for more global players TX and MT." UBS initiates SiTime as buy UBS said the semis company has "big AI leverage." "We initiate coverage of SiTime (SITM) with a Buy rating and $260 PT (20% upside)." Citi reiterates CoreWeave as buy Citi said it's sticking with shares of CoreWeave. "The upcoming lock-up may further pressure shares, but we believe buyers will emerge with continuing strong AI demand and a capacity/revenue inflection in Q4/FY26." Rothschild & Co Redburn initiates Regeneron as buy The firm said it's bullish on shares of the biotech company. "For Regeneron , that cycle has been even more extreme: huge sector outperformance since 2012 until a dramatic reversal over the past year. Time for another look at the company? We think so and launch coverage with a Buy recommendation and a $890 price target. Stephens upgrades Asbury Automotive to overweight from equal weight Stephens said in its upgrade of the car detailing company that Asbury is starting to fire on all cylinders. "As part of our work on this note and upgrade, we spoke to numerous auto dealer leaders and operators who know David Hult, worked with him or worked for him. The feedback on CEO Hult is unanimous and consistent. He is a hands-on, attention to details operator." Deutsche Bank reiterates Amazon as buy Deutsche said it's cautiously optimistic on Amazon's grocery strategy. "Early yesterday, Amazon announced what it called "one of the most significant grocery expansions" in the company's history, with free SameDay delivery for US Prime users on perishable orders of $35 or more. While, Amazon's grocery strategy has been a bit of a moving target, and success has been uneven, we do believe that the new product could prove meaningful to Amazon's grocery volume in the medium term." HSBC upgrades dLocal to buy from neutral HSBC upgraded the fintech company following earnings. " dLocal has been exhibiting low earnings volatility and improving disclosures over the past year, and finally this quarter we saw a big EBIT beat (despite some one-off trends) and continued strong volumes." Mizuho upgrades MAA to outperform from neutral Mizuho said the real estate investment trust has an "underleveraged balance sheet." "We upgrade MAA t o Outperform ($150PT), given: accelerating blended rents into 2H25 and accelerating core and FFO/sh growth into 2026e; falling supply across MAA's core markets, suggesting less operating risk and supporting rent improvement; underleveraged balance sheet supporting external growth and further capital deployment." Morgan Stanley reiterates Cisco as overweight Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock to $73 per share from $70 following earnings. " Cisco's FQ4 posted upside about in-line with investor expectations, with AI orders accelerating." Cantor Fitzgerald initiates Workday as overweight Cantor said shares of the HR software company has an attractive entry point. "WDAY is a high-quality asset with a strong management team, entrenched competitive position in the enterprise, expanding growth vectors, and latent margin potential. The stock is trading near its all-time low EPS and FCF multiples, which we see as an attractive entry point with a positively skewed risk/reward ratio." Wells Fargo reiterates Sunrun as overweight Wells raised its price target on the stock to $14 per share from $8 and says the solar company remains a top idea. "We're raising our PT to $14/sh, based on a DCF framework: $8/sh of base value and $6/sh of terminal value (2030+). ... We continue to view RUN as a top pick in the residential solar space." Read more. Citi reiterates Microsoft as buy Citi said the tech giant remains a top idea at the firm. " MSFT remains a top pick in software, and we believe this week's announcement is another indication of the company's strong pricing power, which we believed combined with accelerating cloud/AI share gains can drive outsized returns." Barclays initiates Schrodinger as overweight Barclays said shares of the biotech company have plenty more room to run. " Schrödinger (SDGR) has a physics-based drug discovery platform that drives revenues, is used to develop partnered therapeutics programs, and helps fund and internally develop their own early stage pipeline of therapeutics." BTIG upgrades Kratos Defense and Security Solutions to buy from neutral The firm said it sees a slew of positive catalysts ahead for the defense solutions company. "We have consistently called out that the lack of a sizable program of record with steady procurement volumes is something that has kept us from seeing further upside for KTOS shares." Bank of America upgrades Sherwin-Williams to neutral from underperform Bank of America said its "thesis has played out" for Sherwin-Williams . "When we downgraded shares to Underperform, we were concerned about a deceleration in housing markets and sell-side estimates that were overly optimistic. Fundamentally, the thesis has played out, as same-store sales growth has declined to 0.8% and 2Q results and guidance fell short of expectations." Baird upgrades CVS to outperform from neutral Baird said the drug chain retailer is in the midst of a "healthcare benefits turnaround story." "We grow increasingly confident on CVS ' path to unlocking HCB [healthcare benefits] embedded earnings power of ~$5 EPS off 2024."
