We have a problem with speed.
As the RNIL’s Saving Lives at Sea regularly reminds us — the UK is an island nation. We’re surrounded by water and the tide impacts how close to water we are. Even experienced people can still get caught out by those movement. The water can appear a long way off, then suddenly it isn’t. The way out is no longer possible and a dramatic rescue by incredible volunteers is needed.
It is easy to see technology innovation as a wave coming at you and cutting you off from what you know. The headlines mostly inspire fear about the future. There has always been a double-edged sword, promising progress and efficiency while simultaneously raising concerns about its impact on our lives. The current era of technological advancement, driven by artificial intelligence, automation, and machine learning, has once again sparked anxieties about job displacement and the obsolescence of human skills. However, as history has shown, these fears are often unfounded, and we can find our place in the next epoch.
Despite our inherent adaptability we struggle to envision the future without the constraints of the past. It’s partly why the sea is so dangerous — it rises and falls at different times by different amounts, and yesterday’s experience isn’t always helpful.
When thinking about the future we tend to project our current understanding of technology and its applications onto the future, leading to an underestimation of its transformative potential. In the past, the pace of technological adoption was slow enough for traditional learning methods to keep up, allowing individuals to acquire the skills necessary to adapt to new realities. Technology was invented quickly but adaption was slow. Just look at the decreasing time it takes platforms to reach the critical mass of numbers from the early social sites of the past to the generative AI tools today.
We are increasingly at risk of letting that experience prevent us from preparing for the future. Rapid advancement of technology adoption demands a paradigm shift in how we approach skills development. The traditional model of rote learning and specialised expertise is no longer sufficient. We must embrace a more holistic approach that emphasizes lifelong learning, adaptability, and the ability to transfer skills across diverse domains.
It will be as, if not more, important to unlearn as new-learn.
As far as we can tell, the future of work will be characterised by human-technology augmentation, where humans and machines collaborate seamlessly to achieve unprecedented levels of productivity and innovation. This paradigm shift will require us to not only learn new skills but also unlearn outdated ones, shedding the limitations of the past to embrace the possibilities of the future.
I believe the key to navigating this transformative era lies in striking a balance between developing deep knowledge in specific areas and acquiring the ability to transfer that knowledge to new contexts.
To do this we need to rethink our approach to learning. One way this can be done is to take what we know about teaching (pedagogy) and adult learners (andragogy) and moving away from a human-age based approach. Better will be to embrace a more fluid model that better reflects the age of experience that the learner has with the subject.
In this new paradigm, the focus is less on the learner’s age or prior experience and more on their willingness to adapt, collaborate, and learn continuously. The unpredictable nature and speed of adoption will force us to embrace a lifelong journey of exploration, situation-transfer, and unlearn-new-learn cycles.
As we navigate the technological tides, it is crucial to remember that fear and resistance are not the answers. Instead, we must embrace the paradigm shift, harnessing the power of technology to augment our capabilities and create a future of boundless possibilities.
Having the privilege of working for one of the leading providers of learning at all ages and all levels makes it easy to talk about the courses and learning platforms on offer. The real privilege is that there is the opportunity to respond to create the solutions that allow a business to use the tide to unlock their advantage.
If we’ve not yet spoken about building a skills periodic table or developing a learning strategy on a page, you’re already behind some of your competition. Let’s chat.
