How To Educate In A Time Of Industry 4.0, AI And Blockchain
65% of students already rely on AI tools and 50% of future jobs demand advanced digital skills; education must fuse technology, creativity and ethics. The challenge for Industry 4.0 is clear: will we educate fast enough to remain human-led?
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“Out-educate today, out-compete tomorrow.”
This pithy slogan, invented by one of President Barack Obama’s advisors, should be the rallying cry for all emerging markets across the world.
But we are living in a time of 4th Industrial Revolution. So what should a revolutionary education system look like? Perhaps blockchain, AI and other technologies can help provide the answer?
Why The Current Education System Is Broken
Nicholas Negroponte, when he was director of MIT Medialab, noted that the current education system is outdated. He uses a clever comparison: imagine a time-traveling surgeon versus a teacher transported from the past.
The surgeon would be lost , new instruments, operating theaters, drugs. The teacher would be fine , rows of chairs, a blackboard (or whiteboard) at the front.
Sir Ken Robinson highlights the roots of this problem: the current education system worked for the industrial revolution but has never quite kept up since.
Salman Khan illustrates this with a powerful analogy:
“Imagine you were building a house. After buying the land, you hired a contractor to make the foundation for the next 3 weeks. The inspector comes in and says the work is 80% complete. 80% is a B, not bad , let’s build the rest of the house on top of the foundation
A year later, after trying to build the second floor, the floor splinters and the house collapses.
This might seem ridiculous , who would build a house on a foundation that’s only 80% complete? Nearly every teacher in America.”
A huge reduction in empathy in schools may reflect society’s use of mobile phones, social media platforms, e-sports and a test-based rather than team-based atmosphere. That’s before we consider prescription meds, exercise, and food quality.
Where Education And Innovation Merge
There are important networks across the globe interested in education. The 4th Industrial Revolution represents an opportunity for big tech companies to join the movement and many have. The Gates Foundation is very active, as are Facebook and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
The trick has been jumping on bandwagons to secure funding, from sexual health in the 70s to the UN Sustainable Development Goals today.
Worst-Case Scenario: Education Doesn’t Change
If we do not revolutionize education, we will likely perish.
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As philosopher Noam Chomsky noted at MIT, the dissonance between technology and our morals means that for the first time in history, self-annihilation is possible for the human race. If we get education wrong now, within ten years there will be major geopolitical forces unleashed in the world. Without a moral compass or ethical horizon, things could go horribly wrong. Perhaps they already are.
Extremes in politics and populism seem mirrored by environmental and climate change. Meanwhile, the general public knows more than ever about these big issues, but slacktivism and lack of empathy mean they remain apathetic.
There is a huge imbalance in digital inclusion and exclusion today. It will only take a small percentage of the 55 million children currently outside formal school to gain access to 4th Industrial Revolution education to materialize change. They are a huge untapped resource — in terms of sustainability and the planet’s future, they could have the biggest say.
The Upside: If We Get It Right
However, if we get it right, we will win.
Incorporate Creativity And Technology Within Education
They are as important as numeracy and literacy. On a basic economic level, implementing “Out-educate today, out-compete tomorrow” will result in:
- Boost to GDP
- Reduction in social tension
- Increase in diverse thought
- Globally
It means we will have the capacity to save the planet, increase happiness, and save lives. This preserves maximum earth resources for future generations while maximizing what we have. That shared purpose will save humanity. Hanging onto that meaning in life means intolerance and aggression become less easy to grip and may slip from our hands.
Redefine Work And Identity
If we get things really right, our definition of job and identity will change. Those who spend time helping society will have equal status to those with commercial aims. In an ideal scenario, universal income and technology levies will pay for people to be retrained — especially important since in the future we’ll all have an average of 5 to 7 professions throughout our careers.
Keep Humanity At The Center
Guarantee that humanity will be at the centre of human progress, not technology. This means we’ll enter an age of purpose. The question is: can we as a race overcome the human tendency for self-destruction and violence, somehow deeply rooted in our DNA as the basis of our survival instinct?
The Educator’s Dilemma
The dilemma remains: how much to focus on technical skills versus social skills within the formal education system?
Future Thinking: Quantum And Epigenetics Applied To Education
The future is full of promise if education does its magic. Plenty of frontier technologies are emerging, including life sciences and biotech, that could transform how we learn and what we’re capable of achieving.
The challenge is clear: will we educate fast enough to remain human-led? The answer will determine not just our competitiveness, but our survival.
