Chances are you are not a millennial.
Which means that, like me, you were born in a time of black and white television, disc telephone, telegram, typing machines and lots of other very old stuff. If so, you belong to a time that is gone. We are in a process of extinction.
And to make things even worse, for the first time in many (many!) generations you do not have the luxury to raise your children based on how you were raised. That would be a huge mistake.
And as part of this complete change of paradigm, that old question we love to make to the kids, “What are you going to be when you grow up?”, lost its whole meaning. Actually it is even dangerous.
We all know by now that the new generation, nicely called “Millennials”, live in a world with an unprecedented level of automation, with an unimaginable amount of gadgets available. Internet, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitch, Whatsapp, along with state of the art mobile devices and video game consoles.
The level of richness and details that this generation has available is unprecedented in human history. It is hard for us to catch up and keep up at the same time that we educate and prepare them for their future.
And the fact is: We do not know exactly what to do! We just keep moving forward trying to react and adjust as we go.
We do not have any reference. In fact, we are the last generation that knows what is the life without Internet.
So, do not make the mistake to ask your children about “What” they will be when they become adults.
Professions are changing as you read this text. Some are even being exterminated. There is a revolution taking place that most people are not paying the right amount of attention. And one of the key drivers of this change is called “Artificial Intelligence” or just “AI”.
(And please wait… before you stop reading this text because you feel that I will start to get too much “Sy fy”, please bear with me…)
Like walking through a minefield, we need to guide our children towards this uncertain future and as parents we have a natural influence on their profession choice. So what is the safest option?
Just to start, there is no safe option.
All these changes are impacting not only the factory floor or investment banks. It is a pervasive change affecting all areas. Here are some examples:
According to the think tank Reform, in the next 15 years only in UK AI may replace 250,000 public sector workers, including doctors and nurses;
Back in 2000, Goldman Sachs’s office in New York had 600 traders at the U.S. cash equities trading desk. Now, after the introduction of Automated trading programs, there are only 2 left;
Based on its AI platform called Watson, IBM has been involved in several breakthroughs on the AI field and there are already some AI product in the market:
IBM “Ross” is the “the world’s first artificially intelligent attorney” and has been already ‘hired’ by the U.S. based law firm Baker & Hostetler and it is today supporting some of its 50 ‘human co-workers’;
“IBM Watson Explorer” has replaced 34 employees at Fukoku Mutual, an insurance firm in Japan, and it is now performing insurance evaluation claims. Fukoku Mutual believes that this change will improving operating efficiency by 30 percent and save more than $1.5 million US dollars in wages annually;
A 2015 Forrester analysis predicted automation will have direct impact on 25 percent of all job tasks by 2019;
On October 2016 the Obama administration released a 58 pages report specifically focused in the challenges and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence, tackling this topic under several angles including legislation, regulation and adjustments in the educational system.
Automation will not destroy all jobs, but its impact will be massive and like in any break of paradigm, those who can quickly spot the changes and are able to quickly adapt will have by far better conditions to make the most of it, even profiting from it.
In times where jobs in segments like customer services, investments banks, among others, will be heavily managed by AI mechanisms, there will be still plenty of opportunities to thrive in areas where there is the need of skills like holistic decision-making, diplomacy, software development, internet security or in areas like leisure and entertainment.
There will still be the need for ‘Human doctors’, ‘Human lawyers’ and ‘Human nurses’, but these professionals will work in a complete different fashion, heavily based on AI resources.
Coming back to the original question, how can we help our children to be better prepared for this ‘new world’?
Can we totally rely on the educational system? I’m afraid not.
Despite some brave initiatives very little has been changed so far. A recent report from the cross-party Science and Technology Committee from UK evaluate that school curriculum “does not reflect the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ in robotics and AI that is underway”.
If even in countries like England schools are not preparing the children in the right way for this new paradigm what to expect from schools from less privileged countries?
In order to fill this gap, parents need to involve their children in activities where they can at first understand what is happening in the AI field and then, based on their natural aptitudes, find activities where they can develop those type of skills that will be crucial in the new market. Some examples:
Starting to learn as early as possible how to develop software can make a significant impact. There are plenty of interesting tools specially designed to support early developers. I recommend Scratch, which is as a very good starting point;
There are plenty of toys today that allow kids to build and customise small robots, starting from easy kits like Lego Mindstorms to some more advanced kits using Raspberry Pi;
Inscribe your kids in online courses, which will develop their self learning capacities, which is one of the most important skill they can develop (See www.udacity.com, http://www.e-learningforkids.org and www.pluralsight.com)
If they like gaming, I recommend the game “Hacker experience”. It is a very impressive tool to significantly increase the children's awareness about all resources and vulnerabilities in the internet world;
Instigate and help your kids to create an YouTube channel. That will demand the development of several interesting skills like image and movie editing, presentation, communication, planning, just to mention a few. In addition, that can open his mind for new ways to share ideas and make money;
And as important as the actions that can raise the children awareness and skills for the new ‘industrial revolution’ is the conscience that the new workforce will be made of multi-professionals.
The paradigm shift will not only allow, but heavily benefit those who will develop different skills, being able to perform different activities in parallel. Ballerinas that work in Cancer researches. Astrophysicists with millions of followers in their Sports YouTube channel or a Mathematician playing piano in a concert. This is the type of professionals that we are already starting to see.
We need to step up and work close to our children in order to open their minds and unlock their spirits.
The development of their learning capacities and the awareness that they can perform different professional activities is paramount.
Before I finish, let me make one point very clear: here I’m focused on skills linked with the professional world. Integrity, respect, honesty and other fundamental personal characteristics can still be taught and nurtured in the same way we learned from our parents and grandparents. They are timeless and universal.
Parents responsibility with their children’s future has never been so critical and crucial.
And doing this right may be the biggest legacy from our generation. The Dinosaurs.