My Actifit Report Card: December 4 2018
In April, my son will start going to elementary school.
The closer that first day of school comes, the more I question what the real benefits of going to school are, especially in the world of today and tomorrow.
Not long ago, I listened to a podcast that talked about the possible effects AI will have on employment and the human condition. I can’t remember who the speaker was, but he said a likely outcome will be that many people will have to reinvent themselves every ten years or so.
The speaker gave this example, a bus driver who loses his job to driverless busses will have to develop a new skill, one that is less automated. If he were to become a licensed physical therapist or sports trainer, he may find that medical advances will again force him out of a job ten years later when quick diagnoses can be done with mouth scans and more effective physical training can be done with the aid of computers (which we are already seeing).
The example given went on and on to represent the possibility of a future of extreme uncertainty, where long term and reliable employment for the majority of the world’s population will be very unlikely.
Is traditional schooling the best way to prepare our children for the future, or even for the world we live in today?
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
Exercise: 12,000 steps of running plus 6,000 of daily activity. 
Ah!! I hope the extra exercise is paying off! :)
That is an interesting point with the employment. Perhaps more leaning towards a physician for AI? Somebody has to keep it running.
But, at what point does the machine stop being the better fix? There has to be something said for the human factor, whether it be touch, a loving, encouraging word or merely being human. I would hate to think of the world in terms of being run by a bunch of computers. :(
Great question, although very unsettling.
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Yeah, I don’t know. Imagine, though, if you studied to become a doctor, and that involved physically touching, working with, and diagnosing patients, and that role slowly become reduced to hooking up equipment, explaining readings, and giving qualified advice. You would have a considerably different job. Would it be as rewarding, or satisfying? Would the pay be the same? Would you need to see every patient? A lot of questions come up.
I really wish I could remember who I was listening to. His stance was that he worried that needing to constantly find a niche where the human component was still needed and valued, and having to retrain oneself every so many years, would have strong effects on the human psyche, basically in the form of stress and strain.
Even without AI, the rate at which technology develops and the rate at which things change, I think you can see a case for this kind of future, one in which people often reinvent themselves, change careers, and struggle to find a place for themselves.
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The answer to your question might be different in the US than Japan. I feel my education was good, but today’s schools seem more like indoctrination centers. My school age grandkids are all homeschooled.
Are they? I can’t imagine homeschooling my children. I’m becoming more and more interested in it, but I think of it as taking so much time, with my current work, I don’t know if it would be possible.
I haven’t seen what Japanese high schools and universities are like, but the junior high schools seem really lacking as far providing education that will prepare students for the future. Everything here is very socially based, so it teaches children how to participate in society and how to work together. It also teaches them not to take risks in a lot of ways and to defer/wait for consensus or permission of some kind. Some of this I think is good. It’s why Japan has the society that it does. But there are negative aspects too. I imagine that someone who was homeschooled here might have a very difficult time fitting into this society as an adult. I have a feeling, though, that might not matter as the world develops. I think a lot of things in Japan are going to have to change in order to keep pace. I can’t say what for sure, but I have a feeling that they are going to need to become much more flexible and adaptable here to get along in an increasingly globalized world.
I didn't home school my kids, so I'm no expert, but the time required is likely less than you imagine since the important parts of any day at school can be taught in much less time at home. Have you heard of unschooling?
I have heard of it, but I don’t know much about it. From what I have seen and read of it, it sounds a lot to me like just spending time with your kids and doing cool things with them. I’ll follow up your link after work. Thanks!
I have some thoughts on this. But I am up way too late (1230am as I write this) so I will try to write more tomorrow. In the meantime (if you still happen to be up and paying attention) here is an excellent video on a similar theme to what you mention:
I’m up too late too;-) I’ll check it out tomorrow. Thanks!
I’m going to have to watch this again later and think about it some more. It paints a pretty bleak picture jobwise. The question is, how will we adapt to changes like these? Will it push us toward a more spiritual existence/higher consciousness (more free time leads to more introspection and self-knowledge), or will the increased freedom and time that may result from this create a huge psychological burden? Not only that, what will we do for money? How will we afford to feed ourselves? What will companies do with their increased profits (from lower labor costs)? Or, will an automated revolution lead to food, housing, and material handouts? Will we find ourselves being given access to equal rations of materials? Very interesting.
And then, how do we prepare our children to live in an increasingly automated world? Can we prepare them for this?
Your guess is as good as mine. The promise of all technology since the industrial revolution has been more free time to follow a more spiritual, a less selfish, a more altruistic existence, as with all these labor saving machines we should all have to work only a few hours a day and otherwise live like rich people. I think we both know how well that promise worked out. Greedy fat cats would rather hijack the entire thing, using new technology to increase profits, but then keeping increased profits to themselves instead of sharing them, and making us work harder than ever. Will this coming revolution be different? It promises the same thing as the previous one. I think we both can follow many logical ends to every idea this presents. It would make a good beer conversation actually.
In terms of how do we prepare our kids, though. I'd say we teach them how to think for themselves. Which is kind of the opposite of the Japanese school system, unfortunately. With wikipedia—all of human knowledge—at our fingertips, and perhaps in the not-so-distant future, a microchip imbedded in our heads, knowledge is meaningless. There goes not only the Japanese educational system, which relies basically on follow the rules and memorize all facts for the tests, but most educational systems around the world.
We can't prepare our kids for this because we really don't know where it will lead. The only thing we can do is teach them how to think for themselves and hope they can figure out the future for themselves.
I want to homeschool my kids, but with my working schedule I can't do it by myself, and my wife is completely against the idea, wanting to do things the typically Japanese way instead. So I find myself in your boat. Next year my son will start elementary school. I figure 1st grade isn't too harmful, but I am watching closely.
I’ve never actually taken the time to look into how homeschooling or unschooling can work, but thinking about it, I can’t imagine how I could ever do it with my current work situation. Plus, my wife would never allow it. Like your wife, probably, she sees the school system here as being vital for teaching children how to get along in Japanese society. Based on why I have seen over the past five years, I have to agree. What worries me, though, is just how much time gets wasted in schools, and how much of a crap shoot your chikdren’s well being becomes. Elementary school seems fun and all, but the wrong teacher can really do a lot of damage to a kid.
My current thoughts are just to be as proactive as I can with my chikdren’s education and free time. That may change though.
The future with AI is one of my favorite topics! There are not many things that the machine cannot do better in many ways. Of course at the beginning, the machines will need humans to program and service them. Seems like the longer one looks out into the future, there is less of a role for humans.
I actually home schooled my 2 kids, partly because of their nut allergy.
Really? What kind of schedule did you use? How much time did you focus on learning and studying per day? How did you work (or what kind of work did you do) while homeschooling your kids?
AI is definitely intriguing to think about. I’ve only just recently begun to pay attention to it. I’m very curious to see how we begin cyborging ourselves, incorporating all of this technology into our own bodies and the way that effects our consciousness, privacy, and many other areas.
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