Automation isn’t a simple struggle between people and technology, with the two sides competing for jobs. The more we rely on robots, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning, the clearer it’s become just how much we need social scientists and humanities experts–not the reverse.

These four skills in particular are all unique to us humans, and will arguably rise in value in the coming years, as more and more companies realize they need the best of both worlds to unleash the potential from both humans and machines.

1. Contextualization

AI and machine learning are extremely useful for solving straightforward, predictable problems and finding patterns no human would ever be able to spot in big data pools. But they’re less helpful in sussing out issues where it’s not a given what the problem actually consists of.

Say a patient gradually stops taking her medication, and an algorithm picks up on that fall-off early on. That’s great, but you still need a human being to ask why and contextualize the reasons–with a full understanding of what it means to live with chronic illness. For instance, is the patient simply forgetting to take her medication, or actively choosing not to? Is there an alternative remedy that suits the patient’s priorities and lifestyle?

2. Curiosity

AI and machine-learning aggregate data about past actions and reactions and follow protocols from there in order to predict likely events in the future. But even the most sophisticated technologies can’t yet transcend the parameters set for them. They can’t quite envision how an expressionistic painting might generate creative ideas for a city planner, or how a poem can sum up Chinese tea culture in a way that aids a foreign CEO in understanding the country’s tea-drinking market.

Curiosity–the care to observe and scrutinize every part of a world in pursuit of understanding–is what sets humans apart. Robots can’t be programmed yet to think creatively about what’s possible if it doesn’t seem likely in the first place.

3. Critical Thinking

Over recent years we’ve seen societies become more polarized. Individuals appear increasingly liable to retreating into so-called “information bubbles” generated in part by algorithms and bots. As a result, healthy skepticism has become a crucial skill. As AI continues to transform our lives, we’ll need people well-versed in the humanities to question what algorithms appear to tell us.