AI is turning specialists into generalists

Though AI is undoubtedly changing the roles of engineers, it may be poised to shift the DNA of the workforce entirely. 

Bill Barton, chief operating officer at ecommerce tech firm Rokt, has seen the company transform as a result of AI, with the technology's ability to democratize skills disrupting the traditional career ladder. With AI, engineers can better grasp non-technical topics, and nontechnical employees can build in ways they never could before, creating a workforce of talented generalists, rather than specialists. 

"Whether it's legal, finance, security, marketing — you name it — every function of the company is now steeped in and using AI tools to do the work," said Barton. "AI is beginning to really blur the lines between different disciplines." 

This power has enabled Rokt to collapse its "job ladders"  from 15 down to just four, said Barton. "I think that is the power of these tools: To let people go beyond those old boundaries and begin to do almost anything they need to do to deliver on the role," he said. 

• Breaking those boundaries is why Rokt has deliberately trained every employee on AI, involving nontechnical workers in things like hackathons and competitions to get them excited about the tech, he said. 

• Additionally, along with changing the fabric of the workforce and breaking the typical career ladder, AI is changing the nature of jobs themselves, he said. Rather than doing hands-on work themselves, employees at large are now "conductors of the symphony orchestra of autonomous AI agents," enabling work that once required weeks to be completed in mere hours. 

• Instead, a staff of employees that know how to practically and efficiently leverage AI enables an organization to be far more powerful. 

Still, in his four years at Rokt and throughout his 40 year career in technology, one central tenet has remained the same: That the most important qualities in an excellent worker have little to do with technical skill, and everything to do with attitude. 

"You have to be relentless, resilient, rigorous, inquisitive, optimistic, and humble," said Barton. "I think those are timeless attributes … of approaching work and life that can allow someone to encounter change, overcome change, embrace new things, not be fearful, and thrive." 

You can catch Barton's full interview tomorrow on The Deep View: Conversations.

Learn more about how Rokt is approaching AI