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Skills & the Future of Work12 June 2026By Janine van Throo

Digital Skills Are No Longer Optional

Digital skills used to be an advantage. Now they are a baseline, and AI is raising that bar again. The question is no longer whether you work in tech.

Digital Skills Are No Longer Optional

Basic tasks like email or document editing are no longer enough. Professionals are increasingly expected to work with data, use digital platforms efficiently, evaluate information critically, and learn new tools independently.

AI is raising that bar again. Knowing that tools like Claude or Copilot exist is not useful on its own. Professionals need to understand what these tools can and cannot do, when to trust the output and when not to, and how to apply them in their specific field.

The key shift is this. The question is no longer whether you work in tech. It is how technology is changing your work.

An HR manager, a lawyer, a founder, and a teacher will all use AI differently. But none of them can afford to ignore it.

The real divide is emerging between those who adapt their skills and those who rely on outdated ways of working. And that divide will widen quickly.

JT
Janine van Throo
Faculty · International AI Academy
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