Defense One and INSA brought together a group of public and private subject matter experts to discuss the need for both soft and hard skills to build successful AI teams in and out of government. While the increased use of AI requires a workforce specialized in digital skills and data science, success also requires strong critical thinking, problem solving and the use of interdisciplinary methods -- skills that are the hallmark of a liberal arts education. Defining hard-skills vs. soft-skills in an AI world, this panel also explored:

• In today’s AI-supported environments there is a heightened need for employees with interpersonal skills and nimble minds
• The power of the written word
• Where does foreign language proficiency fit within an AI ready workforce
• The value of the Four C’s: creativity, collaboration, curiosity and critical thinking