“The adoption and integration of artificial intelligence into the global economy is set to impact the lives of hundreds of millions of workers around the globe. Some experts estimate this disruption could result in the loss of up to 50% of the world’s jobs as these positions are replaced by AI and Automation. Preparing the global workforce for this disruption and equipping displaced workers with new skills that allow them to succeed in this environment is essential. The challenge posed by preparing the workforce and allowing workers to continue to add to their skills for the future will require coordination on the part of higher education, business and government.” -Facing the Future: U.S., U.K. and Canadian Citizens Call for A Unified Skills Strategy for the AI Age via Northeastern University and Gallup
For many, we seem to be approaching the future unfolding before us with very trepidatious steps, moving forward with a sense of both wonder and fear of what is to come. It is a time of great change, and it remains difficult to fathom how deep and far-reaching these changes will be. This is a mind shift for all of us. As this digital disruption is touching every part of our lives, both personally, professionally and socially. As Andrew Ng, former Baidu Chief Scientiest, Coursera co-founder, and Stanford Adjunct Professor shares, “Artificial Intelligence is the new electricity.”
And it is on a course, much like electricity, to change everything.
Many see the often volatile and accelerated rate at which technology is bringing about change as a Pandora’s Box that needs to be closed, and closed soon. However, that is a door that will no longer shut, as innovation has this tendency and will to find its way. Make no doubt about it, this disruption is upon us and no matter how many times we click our heels and mumble “there’s no place like home,” it remains wishful thinking to believe that things will go back to “how they used to be.”
So now, the question becomes, what kind of narrative is it that we are going to write for the future?
Will this be a technology-centered story?
Or will this be a human-centered future?
What we often fail to realize, is that we are the ones in control of determining who will be the hero in this narrative…
And unfortunately, right now, technology seems to be winning that recognition.
But it does not have to be that way.
In all actuality, it is up to us to design the future, not for the future to design us. We have to strategically determine what kind of world we want to create, what kind of world we want to live in, and not just accept the future that is coming at us as predetermined and set in stone.
We are the future-makers and we write the story.
While there is no crystal ball that allows us to determine how to future-proof our children for a world that is shifting in exponential ways, we can sometimes turn to the past to see how it may shed some light on how to approach this uncertain and often ambiguous future.
Which takes us back to Andrew Ng and the idea of Artificial Intelligence as being the “new electricity.” As we compare the disruption of electricity in the past, to our current technological and digital disruption.
While the times and the pace of change were quite different, we can see parallels in how overwhelming these “industrial revolutions” were to people, both personally and professionally, and what they required of people, especially in the midst of deep personal, professional, organizational, and societal shifts. Shifts that required…
- Adaptability and Agility
- Initiative
- Resilience
- Critical, Creative and Innovative Thinking
- Problem-Solving
- Learning New Skills and Behaviors
- Shifting of Mental Models
While, with every paradigm shift, the mantra remains that there have never been times like these before…we realize that there really have never been times like these before. Especially as companies like McKinsey Global Institute share research that points to, “Automation technologies are likely to transform the vast majority of jobs” and “The next generation of digital tools will bring even more far-reaching changes in the decade ahead.” It becomes very difficult to determine if we will cope effectively with the current and coming changes that will be brought upon us by the accelerating nature of innovative technologies and the digital disruption.
Especially as business, government, higher education and education as a whole struggle to parallel pace the current rate and volatility of change.
We know that these shifts of the past were disruptive as well, but we adapted, adjusted, and learned to move forward. However, many say that this change is different and it is difficult to determine how effectively we will come out on the other side. Which means we are going to have to be much more determined in how we strategically design our way forward, as well as remain vitally aware of current and coming shifts to better support us in how we prepare our children for this very non-obvious and unknown future.
Especially if we are going to create a human-centered future narrative where our children truly become the hero of the story…
“A central challenge in the automation age will be connecting millions of displaced workers to new, growing jobs. Some may need to change jobs within the same company, and employers would provide the necessary training in these situations. But many workers may need to find work with new employers or make even bigger transitions to different occupations in new locations. A survey of US households found that more than half of workers displaced between 2005 and 2015 found their next job in a different industry. For these workers, governments and other stakeholders can help to make local labor markets more fluid and easier to navigate.” -The Future of Work in America: People and Places, Today and Tomorrow via McKinsey Global Institute
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