#78 Learning to learn in the digital age with Ferose VR

"Question everything, get curious, every learner should be a seeker of truth.."

Ferose and I discuss learning in the digital age, what it means for humans and for technology, and for this evolving partnership of digital and human.

To remain relevant in today’s world, we must be lifelong learners. Every learner should question everything, and not simply accept what we are told and what we have heard previously. The search for truth leads to growth and deepened understanding of what we don't know. In a complex world, this is key to growing new relationships, creating new systems and evolving with new technology. 

We also discuss the advent of ChatGPT and what it may mean for education and learning, and how we can partner with this technology moving forward. What if AI is one day sentient and can empathise ? Technologists understand what is behind the tools with vast intellectual and financial resources being invested to make everything possible, but the biggest challenge remains ethics around AI and keeping pace with AI development.

Ferose shares his insights, research and pulls on his different, interconnected experiences to give us an holistic view on this vast question of learning in the digital age. 

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-       The human ability to build tools is transformational and means we can ‘move’ fast; whilst tools make us lazy (e.g. map reading being replaced by GPS), they do not make us less capable (e.g. digital cameras not rendering photographers redundant).

-       ChatGPT demonstrates the impact of the disruptive effect of AI, i.e. very powerful with unknown unintended consequences (e.g. the corruption of social media’s pure intentions potentially threatening democracy).

-       Humans cannot understand how deeply interconnected the world is, and we don’t know what the secondary/tertiary effects of this are.

-       In terms of the future of work, insights from testing show that it is not creative pursuits that will be disrupted last (e.g. writing) as expected, but mechanical tasks (e.g. plumbing) and eye-contact jobs (involving human connection).

-       If AI is one day sentient and can empathise, this is the final frontier: technologists understand what is behind the tools with vast intellectual and financial resources being invested to make everything possible, but the biggest challenge is ethics around AI keeping pace with AI development.

-       The characteristics of a good engineer remain the same, however, namely curiosity, humility and practice. Most engineers are taught hard skills (e.g. coding) but soft skills (e.g. empathy, compassion, radical candour) are just as important and can also be taught.

-       Likewise good leadership relies on timeless principles such as storytelling; understanding the context of the world we live in; making connections between seemingly disconnected things; taking a holistic approach; remaining at the intersection of science and humanity; and making sound decisions.

-       What should be taught: curiosity (how to ask difficult/interesting questions); first-principle thinking (to get to the root cause of the problem); thinking in systems (multi-link solutions with global effects); the ability to build a complex architecture in one page.

-       Inclusion is a mindset of being respectful and open. Tech and tools advance literacy, meaning that everyone can learn, but the rate of change is problematic as people are left behind (e.g. the elderly, or marginalised communities with no access to tech) and miss out on progress.

-       The hidden potential links inclusion and learning and requires us to take a step back to see where the gaps are, e.g. an explicit 50/50 gender mix across the board implemented in a thoughtful manner; making disability mainstream (as 15% of the global population); understanding and then executing to add value for the collective.

-       Learning must be shared, whereby there is no reduction on the part of the giver. If they are not shared, learnings are useless. We must use social media to promote ideas, not ourselves - this is meaningless to others, whereas sharing knowledge is powerful.

-       To remain relevant in today’s world, we must be lifelong learners. Every learner should be a seeker of truth, question everything, and not simply accept what we are told.

The purpose of learning is always the search for truth, which leads to growth. We must always ask the hard questions - for true seekers, the possibilities are infinite.

Find out more about Ferose here : https://ferosevr.com