The era of the knowledge economy is giving way to a new paradigm where relationships hold the key to success, according to LinkedIn’s chief economist, Karin Kimbrough. Speaking to Fortune on emerging trends in the job market now that AI adoption among global businesses is in full swing, Kimbrough highlighted a significant shift from a heavily weighted knowledge-based edge to one where interpersonal skills are equally paramount. "We've been in an economy where knowledge was your power, your ability to put your hands on different information quickly and then synthesize it, or deliver it, was really your extra edge," Kimbrough explained, who has been at the Microsoft-owned professional social media platform since 2020.
"And I think we're moving to a point where we see relationships as being part of the other side of that coin. So almost the relationship economy." Kimbrough emphasized that while knowledge remains crucial, the growing importance of relationships is undeniable.
"What we're seeing is obviously an increasing demand for AI skills, whether they're AI expertise skills or AI aptitude skills. But so is the demand for the human or people skills, the ones that actually tell you: ‘I have judgment, I can problem solve, I have critical thinking, I can negotiate’," she noted. This dual rise in demand for both AI and human skills indicates a broader trend.
"The anxiety around replacement is probably not the case, and frankly, it's very rare in history that technology repla.
