Artificial intelligence has moved beyond changing technology. Now, it is reshaping how people find jobs, build careers, and improve economic prospects.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos 2026, Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, said AI is becoming a direct pathway to employment and upward mobility.
During a public conversation with Laurence Fink, Nadella urged governments and businesses to focus less on hype and more on large-scale skills training. Without it, he warned, AI’s benefits will remain uneven.
Why AI skills now matter more than titles
According to Nadella, AI’s real value lies in how people apply it at work.
“People need to say, I picked up this AI skill, and now I’m a better provider of some product or service in the real economy,” he said.
In other words, employability is shifting. Practical ability matters more than formal job labels.
To explain the moment, Nadella pointed to the personal computing era. Workers once had to learn tools like Excel and Word to stay relevant. Today, AI tools represent the next basic layer of workplace literacy.
Training will decide who benefits
Even so, Nadella cautioned that innovation alone will not drive impact.
Instead, the spread of AI skills will determine whether economies grow more inclusive or more divided. For that reason, he called for close cooperation between governments and the private sector.
“The private sector and the public sector must work together to ensure the diffusion happens,” he said.
As countries roll out national AI strategies, workforce readiness is fast becoming a central policy issue rather than a secondary concern.
Why work itself must change
Beyond skills, Nadella highlighted a deeper shift.
AI, he explained, reverses how information flows inside organisations. As a result, many traditional workflows no longer make sense.
“AI is a complete inversion of how information flows in an organisation,” he said. “Once that happens, you have to redesign the work structure.”
For leaders, this creates a clear task. They must rethink how teams operate, not just add AI to old systems.
A global shift is already in motion
Meanwhile, companies across sectors are accelerating AI adoption. Software, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and customer service now rely on AI-driven tools.
Microsoft has placed itself at the centre of this shift through its partnership with OpenAI, alongside major investments in cloud infrastructure and enterprise AI platforms.
At Davos, Nadella framed AI as the next major economic transition. Those who adapt early, reskill often, and redesign work thoughtfully will gain the most.
As AI reshapes the global economy, his message was direct. Skills, not technology alone, will decide who moves ahead in the AI era.
Follow us on Instagram and stay updated with our current news
