I have a lot to say about education and how it has, in the years leading to our next industrial revolution, failed in it’s the purpose, and instead, has become a backdoor to ingenious stabilizations of political systems. Through the money it generates, it has vast influences on the policies our system emphasizes today while leaving it’s own troubles in a shady mist of it’s own.
That’s not to say such a system is bad for today’s time- in fact, having a backdoor funnel to help us learn and debate how to handle climate change, gun violence, healthcare, and other systems is a great way to keep the baseline economics that drives politics stable.
Such unifying financial sources seem to at least incentivize our politicians from holding back on the, apparently, successful tactic, of saying some of the most extreme things they can in their minds and to run away for it.
But there is a massive, and blatant problem with our education system. Well, there are many, but culminated together, the system we have today could be incredibly influential in putting us through an economic crisis in the shift we are all about to face.
This sounds extreme-but let me explain, because, interestingly, this ties directly into the economics of AI and where wether or not we like it, our future will be heading to.
There is a certain book I recently finished, called Prediction Machines, which explains how the economics of artificial intelligence will shift how the economy and the workforce will be operating in the future.
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The book centralizes around one central fact- that AI is absolutely nothing in the way that we have framed it. It has one clear function, and that is all- it is a prediction. The ability to predict what we may need next, where orders will be placed, what the weather will be- and more importantly, what decisions will be made, and what they can lead to.
It is this sole ability of AI that will transform our workforce, as AI has the capacity to help businesses better understand their clients, solve practical problems in many different capacities (such as finance, engineering, biology, marketing- pretty much everything).
The reason why is because we run on prediction. We make choices by the second, and AI takes that burden off of us, making our lives more efficient, and cheaper, in the long run. Meaning, it’s going to be taking big roles in big companies- roles, that, yes, even incredibly smart people can’t compete with. An AI module can help make managerial decisions, strategic recommendations, PR coverage, growth systems, execution, and so much more- and as a result, the way humans think and bring value needs to change.
See there is one component of the economy that has a record of being able to do well- the idea of complimenting. Like selling shovels for the gold, creating value that accelerates the ability to, create massive value, is an incredibly lucrative way to make money and function when done right- and in the case of where we will lie in an economy when one of the most valuable components of our brain is taken- complimenting AI is where humans will stand the best and most lucrative chance.
The economy will now have a greater want to utilize those who can capitalize on irreplaceable human tendencies- the ability to imagine and visualize outcomes, creativity, emotional output/understanding, to talk and converse, entertain, lead, and so on and so forth. Essentially- the best at what AI cannot thoroughly replace.
However, right now, we live in an education system in which so much of what we do could be replaced by AI.
Think about it- right now, an algorithm sitting next to you, would almost definitely be able to do better then you did in school, and thus be considered the better student, and presumptively, economic utility. Not only can it show up every day- it doesn’t forget, and can learn and compile wrote information better than humans- and predict what kinds of problems will be on the tests. It doesn’t have to deal with life, or sleep, for that matter.
To put it simply, if a class were a problem, AI would be a far more effective solution then a human.
Of course, these are for the classes where such a system is implemented.
Right now, our students, and what skills they re learning, can very easily be replaced by the likes of AI, which means, eventually, the time will come when AI takes the world by storm- and the jobs of today won’t be the jobs we have. Instead, we will have more jobs that emphasize the human sides of us, and the capacity to think in depths AI may never truly be able to touch, thanks to the incredible complexities of the human brain.
So herein, the question stands- how do we build an economy where humans can thrive in which the most repetitive, or at the least, replaceable functions of ourselves is no longer the gateways to earning money?
The answer is simple- you teach kids what makes humans the most powerful creatures on the face of the earth. Teach them the art of effective learning, communication, creativity, critical thinking, conversation, conduction, empathizing, the ability to predict enough to bring value, the ability to see, learn, and get ahead of trends, to visualize, capitalize, and emotional awareness.
If schooling changed it’s a system to emphasize these skills- all of which, thanks to computing, is actively achievable form an informational and tactical standpoint, we would be building ourselves back to what makes us run the economy the way we do- irreplaceability and value.
Also- I highly recommend you read Prediction Machines if you want to learn what’s going to be ahead of the curve. That’s all for today.
Credit: BecomingHuman By: Shaurya Pandya
