Skills for a Skill-less Society (GWTW897)

As a curious person, I am intrigued with what it takes to build skills and get good at a craft. Sure, there’s the initial impulse, the desire to pick up a guitar, make a leather bag, or design furniture, but at some point you need to start doing the work. You pluck and strum, sew and saw, cursing and crying as you suck beyond measure. But something in you tells you to keep going. Slowly, you get better. It’s hard to say where you’ll end up, but that doesn’t stop you as you dream about new ideas and possibilities. Maybe you’ll make money, it might just be a hobby, but that doesn’t matter because you feel alive. This is the work we do in a skills-based society. But there’s an interesting conversation emerging in some corners of the internet centered around this question: How is AI de-skilling humanity and what impact will that have on society?

What’s the Point of Skills in a Skill-less Society?

1. Skills are essential to making anything.

2. Skills help us dream.

3. The ability to think increases in parallel with the growth of our skills.

4. Skills become an extension to gauge how we feel.

5. Connection with others is a healthy byproduct of developing skills.

6. Skills transform hopes and dreams into a shared vision for humanity.

Show Links

Shae O. Omonijo

Ai, Humanities, and the Future of Work by Shae O • .

The Great AI De-Skilling is Upon Us

39 (Or So) Lessons On The Way To 39 • by Ryan Holiday

How It’s Made

• Episode Photo from Envato Elements: Close Up Macro of Colorful Interwoven Fabric