Reflections on Mirrorworld, Automation and The Future of Work
In his recent Wired article, tech guru Kevin Kelly explores ‘Mirrorworld’, the emerging third mega-platform (after the internet and social media) that will connect everything and everyone:
“Everything connected to the internet will be connected to the mirrorworld.
And anything connected to the mirrorworld will see and be seen by everything else in this interconnected environment.”
This hyper-connected brave new world will bring with it significant disruption and change.
On that note, McKinsey’s just released its Australia’s automation opportunity report, which predicts 25% to 46% of current work activities in Australia could be automated by 2030, helping boost productivity, personal incomes and economic growth.
The ‘automation opportunity’ could give every Australian an annual income boost of $4,000 to $11,000 by 2030, and add between $1 to $4 trillion to Australia’s economy over the next 15 years.
When it comes to the economics of artificial intelligence (A.I.), a recent study by PwC found A.I. contributed U.S. $2 trillion to the global economy in 2018, and is predicted to contribute $16 trillion annually by 2030.
That said, ineffective development of A.I. is a potential hurdle to realizing its potential. For example, a recent analysis found 40% of 2,830 ‘A.I. companies’ across Europe didn’t use any A.I. at all. This isn’t entirely surprising, as start-ups that positioned themselves as ‘A.I.-focused’ received 15% more funding (on average) than other start-ups.
For workers, McKinsey’s flagged some jobs will be lost and others created, estimating somewhere between two to five million workers may need to change careers. But all jobs are expected to change, with workers spending >60% more time using tech skills.
On the topic of future skills, the New South Wales government recently challenged a group of researchers to identify the work skills today’s enterprising kindergartners will need to survive and thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Developing deep knowledge and subject matter expertise over time will be critical.
The non-routine jobs of the future (e.g. in engineering, design, construction, education and healthcare) will also require a combination of complementary skills, including creativity, adaptability, flexibility, physical dexterity, human-centered problem-solving, interpersonal and communication skills.
So, essentially, a mix of skills that would require an artificial general intelligence (or something close to it) to fully automate.
Thankfully A.G.I. is still a way off.
At least, let’s hope so…
About the author: Aamer Fattah is a medical scientist and a research and innovation expert with Munich Re.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, organization, employer or company.
