I study a lot, it's my job as a writer. Tech, biology, meta trends, geopolitics. I'm concerned about our kids, especially the ones going through high school and into college. There is this societal expectation, a combination of peer pressure and a constant drum of misinformation from the education industry. They program these kids to suit their own agenda, but we know that more than half of students won't be able to get a job in their field of study when they graduate, after spending many thousands of dollars learning technology and 'facts' that are archaic before they can hang that diploma on the wall. Right now, global knowledge is doubling every twelve hours... that's 12. Half a day.
Teachers and an education system can't hope to keep up. A number of my girls want to get degrees in nursing, there is a lot of demand, now. But in three to five years, all of that is expected to change. One skilled nurse using AI, and a team of cheap unskilled caregivers, is going to eliminate a dozen skilled nursing positions. Same with all of these IT degrees. Right now I am getting automatic AI assistance with spreadsheets, I don't even ask for it. This morning I got prompted by Microsoft that the primary spreadsheet I use had 14,760 cells that could be optimized for performance. I pressed a button and BANG, done. Do you know how long it would take me to do that manually, even if I knew what to do?
I am converting one of my novels into an audio MP3 file. It is incredible how well the editing technology works. The editing software is so good, there is a limited need for editors and publishers.
My point is that I want my girls to be educated, but increasingly I don't see the future use for college as it is presented. We are encouraging them to develop accounting and financial skills and business management. Then focus on some trade so they can own a business. They don't need college for that, but they need to stop spending so much time on TikTok and watching Korean Dramas. They need to be reading. I don't want them to think employment has a future in an AI/Robotics world.
