The Future of Work: Solutions To The Impact of COVID-19 and AI.

Just as the COVID-19 Pandemic was about to shut down Seattle and then the rest of the USA, I was asked to create a video about an intriguing new project from Springboard, General Assembly, Open Classroom, and Microsoft. The focus: What does “Work” look like in the near future.

Initially, we were looking at the pressures of AI on the US workforce, but with the reality of COVID-19, we started to get a glimmer of the economic reality that this pandemic will soon bring to our shores.

So now it’s a One-Two Punch. Punch One is here, massive unemployment claims and the stark reality that the businesses that once employed workers might never return. As a society, we are confronted with a complete reorganization of the Social Contract we have with Government, Education, and Business in order to survive the first wave of this crisis.

The second Punch is moving in slow motion, but it’s on its way and could even be a bigger disruption to the life we thought we knew. AI is coming and the upheavals of COVID-19 will expedite its impact on the workforce, leaving an unmanageable number of workers unemployed with no possibility of meaningful work at a livable wage. This will create a Useless-Class that will strain all aspects of our society and can lead to massive social disruptions unseen in modern times.

This crisis is like any other, terrifying, and also rife with opportunities, Education is one of those opportunities.

The Workforce Project this video addresses will strive to create a curriculum to fill the ongoing massive need for Data Science and Technology professionals in all aspects of Business.

This education system will be suitable for everyone and additional entrepreneurial support can also offer ways to start new businesses in any community. As each business in the world becomes a technology business these positions are needed desperately.

They are not AI-proof, but with continued education, they can provide a runway to a fulfilling career which will stabilize society and create the better world we have been aspiring to achieve.