GerdTalks Episode 4 by Futurist Gerd Leonhard: The Future Of Work (Audio)

Audio-only versions of Futurist Gerd Leonhard's keynotes

This is the Audio-version only of my new bi-weekly show on multiple platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, etc. You can watch the video version of the stream on https://youtu.be/cC_DlYvCiEk On this Episode: Machines are getting smart. AI, fuelled by machine learning brings the end of routine-tasks for us. Yet it's NOT the end of Human Work - it's just the end of (some) routines. How can we get ready? I think that in a digital and fully interconnected world (ETA 2030) it will not be our technology that differentiates us - it will be our HUMANITY. It will not be our efficiency, our productivity, our optimization or our smartness and powerful intellect that will 'beat' the machines - it will be our human-only skills. It will be everything that machines have a hard time with. Recall the Moravec Paradox: whatever is simply for a human, is hard for a machine (and vice versa). So what are 'human-only' skills and traits? To start with, imagination, intuition, emotions, ethics, values, compassion, empathy and consciousness. Machines are binary but humans are multinary. Organisms aren't algorithms (yes, I will explain) and while we should try hard to build machines that have competence we should not strive for them to develop consciousness (see Stuart Russell 'Human Compatible). If your job is 100% routine i.e. commodity work (and indeed very very few jobs really are) the machines - software and hardware - will take your job. If your job is something like 50% routine you need to start adding unique values that are not routines or can be commoditised. Values that machines won't match anytime soon - what I call the Androrithms. Thus, the future also entails a total reboot of learning, education and training. STEM education must be matched with what I call HECI - humanities, ethics, creativity and imagination. Watch my 2020 film 'How the future works' www.howthefutureworks.tv Our ultimate job is... to be human! I started with a 15 minute presentation on the future of work, showing some brand-new memes, and then I took questions and comments from the audience using Youtube and LinkedIn comments.