A.I. is changing the workforce. Here's what businesses can do to keep up

Artificial intelligence is set to bring about new types of jobs and companies must ensure employees learn the relevant skills needed to perform advanced tasks, according to a senior Salesforce executive. In fact, advancements in technological areas such as robotics and automation, as well as AI, are changing the future of the workforce, said Renzo Taal, head of Asia and senior vice president for Asia Pacific at Salesforce. "We look at these technologies as being enhancements, not per se, replacements," he said on Thursday. Speaking to CNBC's Matthew Taylor at the Innovfest Unbound conference in Singapore, Taal explained that "human creativity and abstract thinking" would be major components of the new types of work that will emerge as a result of closer human-machine collaborations. In a study conducted by Salesforce, 73% of hiring managers said creative thinking skills will be more important in an AI-driven workplace.