MAY 12, 2026

Most skills will still be needed—but how people use them will change as they work alongside intelligent machines.

WHY THIS MATTERS!
This McKinsey research is a high area of interest to the Institute because it shows how AI is changing not only which tasks people perform, but also how workers think, make decisions, use their skills, and understand their professional value. These changes are central to occupational AI psychology, which examines the psychological experience of working with AI (including shifts in worker confidence, judgment, responsibility, identity, trust, and adaptation). We’re sharing this research because understanding the future of work requires understanding how AI-work is impacting workers in increasingly high-automation environments.

✍ McKinsey Global Institute
📸 McKinsey Global Institute