HP Innovation Journal Issue 12: Summer 2019 | Page 47
AUTOMATION EDUCATION
Automation Requires a Reimagining of Education
GREG BLYTHE
Distinguished Strategist, HP
GUS SCHMEDLEN
Vice President, Worldwide Education, HP
New skills and capabilities will be
required in the workforce of the future
Automation is reshaping the world around us in a multi-
tude of ways, from manufacturing to marketing. At HP,
we’ve conducted research into how artificial intelligence
and automation will displace tasks for many workers
and which skills will be necessary to create a thriving
and competitive workforce. Economists have long recog-
nized that education levels matter quite a bit for income
and economies. Reengineering business processes with
automation requires reskilling and education of the
associated workforce as new types of skills and potentially
higher-wage jobs are required to capture the full benefits
from automation. In fact, 50% of CxOs surveyed globally
believe that education and reskilling will be required of
the workforce in order to benefit from automation. Due
to this, we’re likely going to see a shift from an educated
workforce to a learning one that is capable of ongoing
curiosity and development.
To adapt to these constant changes, we will have to reimag-
ine education. The coming surge of robotics, artificial
intelligence, and machine learning has deep implications
for both traditional and nontraditional education.
We need to reexamine the whole
curriculum, as well as focus on those
functions and skills that aren’t easily
automated or completed by a robot,
like creativity, communication, and
collaboration.
As some jobs become obsolete, new jobs will be created to
take their place. At present, about 30% of all work is per-
formed by machines. By 2022, this number is expected to
increase to 42%. With this in mind, how can we best equip
the students who will live and work in this world?
It will become ever more important to be conversant in
digital technologies. While not everyone will need the
depth of knowledge of a software engineer, there will be a
future competency required to be global, digital citizens.
Familiarity with data, analytics, and interacting with arti-
ficial intelligence will become a fundamental requirement
of computational thinking. Digital citizens won’t need to
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