Critical thinking skills will be No. 1 biggest key to success in the age of AI

Contrary to popular belief, you won’t need a machine learning degree or other highly technical skills to succeed in the near future, according to Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman.

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 Overtime” 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.”