Staying Ahead of the Robots

Audience Level: 
Intermediate
Institutional Level: 
Higher Ed
Abstract: 

Nearly two-thirds of Americans expect humans to struggle to find work in a future of automation. Jon Mott, Chief Learning Officer of Cengage’s Learning Objects, delves into how competence and intellectual skills-based education can help those without a college degree develop skills that will allow them to thrive in the future workforce.

Extended Abstract: 

Nearly two-thirds of Americans expect humans to struggle to find work in a future of automation. But just 12% of Americans worry about losing their own job to automation. If predictions about the future of work are correct, many Americans may be in for a difficult reckoning.

Jon Mott, Chief Learning Officer at Cengage's Learning Objects, argues that the automation threat is real, and that Americans looking to future-proof themselves against the coming automation trend can do so two ways: by developing soft skills that are not easily replicable by robots or AI, and by continually building skills that will allow them to stay ahead of the curve.

In this session, Mott provides a look into how competence and intellectual skills-based education can help today's workforce—and particularly those without a college degree—develop new and durable skills that will allow them to thrive in a future workforce that looks very different from the one that exists today.

Conference Track: 
The Education-Workforce Continuum
Session Type: 
Conversation, Not Presentation
Intended Audience: 
Administrators
Faculty
All Attendees