Then you're going to hate extinction.
That was a quote our principal had up during our first staff meeting after we got approval to go 1:1.
And it's not just true about schools.
It's true everywhere. Here are just a couple of examples.
First, the implications of 3D printing.
How will companies react when consumers can now produce their own products? That's a real possibility.
How will industries react? Drop prices? Shut down? Fight back with law suits?
I still think it's ludicrous how the music industry (led by former greats, Metallica) attacked the digital music revolution.
They could have embraced it, as many acts and companies have (look at Apple and their iTunes store. I recall the first time I bought something from them - it was an Iron Maiden song - back in 2003. The store was so old school that the search function didn't even work on my classroom desktop. I had to find other songs by going to the listing next to the artist icon and looking through various "Customers who bought this song also bought . . ." and that's how I found other songs. Still, the best way for me to get music was to go to Wal-Mart or Best Buy and purchase the CD and download it into my iTunes. Now, though, iTunes rules the music world. And very few people (in fact, it's been at least two years for me) buy music from Wal-Mart or Best Buy anymore).
But the music industry sued kids and single moms instead. Not remarkable.
And their industry is dying. I just read last night that an act that sells two songs on iTunes makes as much money as the band that sold 17 albums in the good old days when there still were things such as albums!
So what would happen if companies sold the blueprints for their products and encouraged people to print them at home?
Or what if they gave away the blueprints or codes to print the basic structure of the product and then offered various add ons customers could buy.
Or what if they put their customers to work for them by having the customers submit their own designs for enhancements to problems? (that's what the company timbuk2 does. They allowed me to design my own computer bag.).
Second, how to deal with more and more intelligent robots.
My brother is a great example. He has worked for the sugar beet plant in Crookston since he graduated. He began as a seasonal employee, preferring his summers off. However, once he decided to settle down, he got on working full time.
But he knew that he always had to stay ahead - whether that meant receiving extra training (he actually took math and science classes at Colorado State so he'd have the skills to keep advancing) or applying for different positions. I believe he told me that at least three times he was able to move on up just when his previous job was going to be automated.
So being a true life long learner and being abel to adapt and stay relevant is definitely one way to stay ahead of automation.
But what about the coming revolution?
Now I think this article goes to extremes, worrying that the revolution in smart robots will remove humans from the work force completely.
Sure, it's something to be cautious about. But remember - just look at some of the past predictions about what the future will look like. We're still waiting on the flying cars aren't we?
Certainly, many will be replaced by automation. That is nothing that hasn't happened since the industrial revolution. But to replace everyone? I find that hard to believe.
Thomas Friedman discusses this in his book That Used to Be Us. He states that if a company can automate or outsource a position or line or skill, it will.
That sucks for the worker because the worker tends to come back but at a much lower rate and having to work several other jobs to make up for their previous job.
How to avoid this? Friedman argues - as does Tapscott and Godin - that the best way to make yourself constantly relevant is to be creative, a constant learner, and an artist. In Godin's words, be a linchpin.
My sister is a great example of this.
She was working as an office assistant for a lawyer when she was first married. However, when she became pregnant with her first child, she decided to stay home. She did so with her other children as well.
Then, though, after her youngest entered school, she filled in part time at the Red Lake County Highway department for a secretary who was on maternity leave.
Barb thought it would just last as long as the leave did. However, legislation was passed calling for greater safety measures and policies. So the highway department needed someone to fill the role of a safety consultant.
Barb was so good that they asked her to step in to the new position.
She accepted and excelled. She excelled so much so that she moved to a new training position at NCTC. She was so good at that that she decided she could do the same thing, only with her own business. And again she excelled and has a very successful business.
What makes her so successful? Work ethic. Responsibility. Accountability. Now those can be automated. I mean who can outwork a machine (as long as the machine doesn't break down)? And how many times has a machine every given you an excuse or slept through a meeting or been late to work?
But what makes Barb a linchpin is that she has personality, kindness, compassion, and empathy. And you can't replicate that with a machine.
Just sit through a presentation of hers and you'll see what I mean.
So while, yes, millions of jobs will be automated, what can we do to remain relevant?
Well, that's part of the fun. That's part of being an "artist" as Godin talks about in his newest book The Icarus Deception. The time where you showed up and had a job for life where you just had to show up and put your time in, well, that time is gone.
And I'm glad. Bring on the robots!
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