Short thread on technology and skills: I am struck by how much we focus on education/training (to match the demands of innovation) and how little we think about redirecting innovation (to match the skills of the current and prospective labor force). +
Technological determinism runs deep. We tend to think we have little control over innovation and that society must somehow adjust to its consequences. Yet who innovates, who benefits from innovation, whom it replaces, and how it is deployed are all the result of choices we make +
We can innovate to replace labor with machine. Or we can innovate specifically with an eye towards increasing the tasks that ordinary workers can perform – by doing work that was previously performed by more skilled people, or by providing more specialized, customized services. +
An example of the first is AI systems that enable nurses to perform physicians’ tasks. An example of the latter is tech enabling teachers to provide education customized to different students’ needs. Tech has a direction and it must serve society rather than the other way around.
