Giving Compass' Take:

• Getting Smart discusses the innovations that will shape the future of work, including artificial intelligence, and the need to instill confidence in the next generation to tackle complexities.

• Among the action items stressed in this piece is the need for more personalized, competency-based learning. Do enough education programs account for how today's students will be able to adapt to a rapidly changing economy?

• For those who want to dive deeper on the innovations in personalized learning, check this out from The 74.

Together AI, big data, distributed ledgers, and a growing array of enabling technologies (e.g., wi-fi enabled video doorbells, robots, autonomous vehicles) promise extraordinary wealth and benefit. But across and within most countries (especially the USA), these promises will not be equally distributed.

While forecasts vary widely, we think it’s safe to say that:

  • Most jobs will continue to be augmented by smart tools, boosting the skill requirements for incumbents.
  • Jobs will change rapidly, creating the need for people to reskill and upskill across their lifetimes.
  • Employment structures will continue to become more project-based, whether people are working full-time for one organization or working as freelancers or task masters.
  • Job dislocation will accelerate over the next decade as automation improves and drops in price, but it will vary by sector and geography. High labor-cost markets such as the USA will probably see significant dislocation in the middle of the job market in the next two decades. The impacts will also be felt across job levels and categories.
  • Job formation opportunities will exist for people and regions that apply an entrepreneurial mindset and skill up quickly. Regions that respond with coordinated and responsive  physical and educational infrastructure could see net gains in employment. Others could become the new rust belt of the AI revolution.

Despite these serious implications, there has never been a better time to make a difference — to build an app, launch a campaign, start a business, or make contributions to global problems. Most big challenges and opportunities have giant associated data sets, and it has never been easier to collect and analyze data using smart tools. An exciting example is AI4All, a nonprofit connecting AI experts to high school students in six cities (see feature).

Read the full article about the future of work and educating kids about AI by Jonathan Rochelle and Katherine Prince at Getting Smart.