This article describes very clearly why EQ is needed more than ever before:
As automation scales repeatable tasks, human understanding of emotions and creativity are going to be much more important.
When artificial intelligence becomes a major part of society, emotional intelligence is going to be much more important for humans.
As technology advances exponentially, our human minds only progress linearly, which means the gap between people and technology will only increase. How will humans keep up?
One thing we can do is increase our emotional intelligence. As artificial intelligence is already automating most of our monotonous and repetitive tasks (e.g. data entry/analysis, audio transcription, email marketing, bartending, vacuum cleaners, autonomous vehicles, etc), humans will need to become more competitive by creating solutions to the more complex problems that require creativity or insight on human behavior.
It’s Already Needed Today
Humans are social, emotional beings and we will always have to interact with each other in some capacity, even when technology might be doing most of it for us. Humans will always need each other, so we will need the skills to be able to develop ourselves and our relationships productively.
Unfortunately, we’re already seeing how technology has been disconnecting us from each other, creating siloed camps of thought, perspectives, and beliefs. We see people who prefer to scroll through their phones at dinner rather than become curious about their company. We see people not able to handle their emotions to discuss sensitive topics. We see how convenience have fueled the introverted side of us, where our cravings can be satisfied with delivery services and instant access to a less fulfilling version of social connection.
By Victor Rung for Human Up (Source Link)