AI vs Humanity | Are We Teaching Kids the Wrong Skills for the Future?

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English words/expressions in this episode;

• scrape the surface (idiom)
• exponential (adjective)
• take the wheel  (idiom)
• drastic (adjective)
• overstretched (adjective)
• upper-hand (noun)
• naive (adjective)
• obsolete (adjective)

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Imagine waking up one morning and finding out your job no longer exists. Not because you were fired, but because a machine learned to do it better than you. That's not a scene from a dystopian film, that's a real life prediction. This world is changing faster than we can teach it, and I can't help but wonder, our schools, our kids, even ourselves, are we really ready for that type of world? Hello and welcome back to the One British Man podcast. I'm your host, Lee. Just before we get into this very interesting and relevant topic, let me just remind you why this podcast exists in the first place and how it helps you to expand your English language. I've never been a person that truly believes in the traditional way of learning. I prefer to use creativity, personal interests, and inspirational content to learn anything. I apply that to my own learning and I'm trying to apply it to yours too. So in this podcast, we go into some deep ideas that are thought-provoking and inspirational, and this is the idea. We're creating a story which allows you to learn English at the same time, but without feeling like it's a chore or a real study. So you can sit back, listen to part one, take it in, take in some new language, and in part two, we'll look in a little bit more detail at the language itself, picking out expressions, vocabulary, and helping you to use it in your everyday English conversation. If you want to go a little bit further with it, we've got the One British Tea Room, which is connected to this episode. Every Sunday at 7 pm Central European time, we meet on Zoom to discuss this podcast episode, look at the language in even more detail, and it's your chance to engage in a group lesson. If you want to go even further than that, you just need to head over to onebritishman.com and there you'll find information about my private one-to-one lessons for those of you who are really focused on improving your English conversation. Okay, let's get into today's topic. A few days ago, I read something that genuinely made me stop and think, one of those lines that you have to read twice just to make sure that you didn't misunderstand it. There's a very well respected voice in artificial intelligence safety and a leading AI researcher called Roman Jampolski. And he said that by the year 2030, 99% of jobs could disappear. 99%. And I think deep down, as much as we want to ignore and reject those claims, I think we all know it's coming. Now you might be listening to all this thinking five years. In five years' time, ninety-nine percent of jobs will disappear. Surely the world can't change that quickly. And that was my first reaction too, but then I thought about it for a moment. Five years ago was 2020. That doesn't feel like long ago, does it? We were still getting used to things like remote work, Zoom meetings weren't such a daily part of our lives, TikTok was just teenagers dancing around, and Chat GPT? Well that didn't even exist. Five years later, and we have AI tools that can write full essays, can produce songs, can design websites, diagnose illnesses, and create entire films in minutes, and we're just scraping the surface. The jump from predictive text to artificial intelligence that can debate philosophy did not take a whole generation to develop. It took a coffee break. And the thing with technology is that it doesn't grow in a straight line, it's exponential. Every new improvement accelerates the next one. And that's why five years in AI time is not five years in human time, it's more like fifty. And what we have to remember is that the impact on our lives in that very short period of time can be monumental. So if we just project forward another five years at the same pace, it's not actually that hard to believe that AI won't just be writing emails or editing photos. It could be running our businesses. It could be teaching classes, performing surgery, or designing new AIs entirely on its own. And although we may have our worries and concerns, we're also fascinated by it, aren't we? And we're unlikely to have the power to slow it down. Let's be honest, there's so much money to be made. And unfortunately, we're a greedy race. You can already see some problems that are coming with this. When technology starts evolving faster than our ability to adapt, then we stop being in control of our own story. That's why Jan Polsky's prediction sounds wild, but it might not be far off. So let's just focus in on that idea for a second. If humans don't need to work or we don't have the skills to compete, what do we actually do? Do we need to find new ways to feel useful and valued? Do we need to redefine what it means to be successful? Do we need to build meaning from somewhere else? Or shall we just let AI take the wheel and hope for the best? Now Roman Yampolski isn't just some doomsday YouTuber. He's a respected professor of computer science, and his logic is pretty straightforward really. AI will first automate everything that happens on a computer, and then as humanoid robots catch up, probably within five years, physical labour starts to disappear too. So in theory, it's not just call center workers or delivery drivers, it's teachers and doctors and lawyers and journalists and even podcasters like me. Imagine a robot with a perfect British accent, slightly sarcastic tone, a bit of humour, and a neatly structured episode. Well that's easy, isn't it? I'm lucky I'm even here now. The reality is I'll be out of business pretty quick, unless I learn to adapt, learn and utilize new skills that are centered around me and me being a human. We'll talk about that later in the episode. Here's the part that hit me the most. Jan Polski said, If all jobs vanish, we have no plan B. And he's right, isn't he? So much of our identity is tied to our work. You meet someone new, and what's the first question that you ask? You say, Oh, hi, so so what do you do? We build our whole sense of purpose around what we produce, and that idea might be about to collapse. Let's take a breath for a moment. Let's just zoom out a little bit. And let's look at the generation that are currently in school. Because whenever we're talking about making changes on this kind of level, we're going to have to go to the root of what impacts our future, and that is often what and how we are teaching the new generation. If AI is going to reshape the world by 2030, the way we educate humans needs drastic change. And it needs to start now. I don't mean just switching subjects, I mean a complete reset and restructure based around an entirely different set of human skills. Our traditional education systems are still designed for the industrial age. We are so far behind. We're still testing children on memorization. We're giving them standardized exams, marking them down for colouring outside the lines. And meanwhile, the whole world outside is moving faster than any curriculum update could ever keep up with. Most teachers, and I say this with respect, are completely under-resourced. They're underpaid and they're overstretched. They're trying to prepare children for a world that just doesn't exist anymore, with tools that are at least 30 years out of date. My wife and I decided to home educate our children, and the decision was made before AI really grabbed hold of our world. We had other reasons that were more related to individualized learning. But as time goes by, I'm more and more convinced that we made the right choice, and I wouldn't be surprised if other parents are considering their options too. Think about it for a second. We still tell kids to show their working in maths. But in real life, no one says please don't use a calculator. We make them memorize historical dates, but we don't teach them how to filter misinformation online. Maybe we do a little bit these days, but not to the extent that's needed. We teach them to write essays but not how to prompt an AI engine to do the same thing, ethically, critically, and responsibly. And don't get me wrong, I really love that kids know how to write with a pen and paper. I really love that. And that they learn how to read books and that they hold on to the nostalgia of a world we're leaving behind. But this is also about survival. We are raising a generation of children who will graduate into a world where machines can do their jobs better and faster and cheaper. And they'll be asking, but why did school not prepare me for this? I don't think school should be simply teaching kids how to use AI. I think it needs to go much deeper than that. It needs to have an element of protecting the human inside us so that we can contribute something to the world and to each other. So let's look at that in a bit more detail, shall we? What are we going to teach instead? What skills actually matter? Well, we can't beat AI already at stuff like data processing and memory or pattern recognition, but there are still areas where humans have the upper hand, at least for now. Emotional intelligence is one. AI can simulate something like empathy, but it can't feel it. Humans still need to connect to comfort, to motivate, to love each other. Then we have creativity. Not creativity in the sense of painting a nice picture, but the messier humankind, the ability to improvise, to connect unrelated ideas, to see something from a totally new human perspective. Maybe I'm being naive. Maybe AI is already there. Critical thinking, teaching kids how to think, not what to think. That means questioning information, verifying sources, and using human logic. Then we have adaptability, the ability to learn, unlearn, relearn again quickly in a world that's changing every six months. That is a survival skill. That's exactly what we're talking about. And collaboration. Humans working with AI and each other, of course, but not against robots, knowing how to use the tools, not to fear them. Maybe the real curriculum of the future should be how to stay emotionally stable alongside AI and how to stay human when the world starts to feel robotic. The emotional side of all this is the important one for me. Jan Polski said work gives people income, structure, status, and community. If all that disappears, how do we find the value in ourselves? If your main purpose was your job and that job goes away, who are you? I'm sure I'm not the only one that's already feeling this. I'm already questioning daily what is my purpose? How can I get more purpose? And I'm someone with four children, someone who understands that, yeah, my purpose is raising children. That is the most important thing, but I can feel within myself that I'm losing something. Things are replacing me as a human. And I think lots of people are sharing that. People are feeling the early stages of loneliness, of being devalued and being disconnected. That's a big one. It's not going to get any easier unless we do something about it. Maybe we'll have to start valuing people for who they are, not what they produce. Maybe artists, carers, thinkers and storytellers will become philosophers of our new world. Maybe raising a child or planting a garden will be seen as a contribution, not a hobby. And maybe finally we'll realize that meaning doesn't come from just a payslip, it comes from human connection. I hope so. That sounds nice. I sometimes imagine what a new type of school might look like. No desks, that's for sure, no endless testing. Instead you'd have maybe project rooms, discussion groups, and empathy training on human skills and characteristics. A place where failure is not punished but it's analysed, and also where AI is not banned but it's used as a partnership. Where children learn to ask the right questions and not just memorize the right answers. And we need to prepare children to coexist with AI, not to compete against it. In my personal opinion, if we don't change the way we educate soon, we risk raising a generation that's already obsolete by the time they turn 18. And I don't even want to think about what that does to the already growing issues of mental health problems. So this was a heavy one today, but let's just sum it up. So Jan Polski's warning isn't just about the end of jobs. I think it's more of a wake-up call. It's not just about AI stealing our jobs, it's about humans rediscovering what work is actually for. If machines can do everything practical, then maybe our job, our true job, is to stay creative and compassionate and curious and connected. Maybe it's more about what we do with the time that AI gives us back. And if you are a parent or you're a teacher, or even a student listening to this, maybe it's time to start asking yourself those big questions because actually the future is already here, and we have to be proactive if we are to survive. Let's go over to part two now, and we're going to pick out some of the language I used in that little story. Story makes it seem unreal. It is very real. We've got lots of expressions that you can start using in your everyday conversation, and it's all coming right up. Here we go, part two. And create entire films in minutes, and we're just scraping the surface. Scrape the surface or scratch the surface. Both of these are fine. If you are scraping or scratching the surface of something, it means that you're investigating or dealing with only a tiny part of a larger subject or a larger problem. It suggests that whatever you are talking about is actually much bigger or deeper than what is being mentioned. We sometimes use another idiom for this and we say it's just the tip of the iceberg. This means the same thing. It's really useful for expressing that something is leaving a big impact as it is, but it's only the start. It's going to have a bigger impact in the future. And the thing with technology is that it doesn't grow in a straight line, it's exponential. Exponential exponential. It means that something is characterized by an extremely rapid increase. And we often see this word when we're talking about how quickly something grows or develops. You hear it a lot when we talk about financial growth, about business growth, or about advancements in science and technology. You're basically saying that something expands or spreads very quickly. Do we need to build meaning from somewhere else? Or shall we just let AI take the wheel and hope for the best? Take the wheel. Take the wheel is an idiom that means two things, depending on if you're talking about a literal meaning or a metaphorical meaning. If you take the wheel in a car, it means that you put your hands on the steering wheel and you take control of where the car is being directed. And metaphorically, it's quite close to this. It means that you are taking control of a situation or a task or a project. For example, if you plan a holiday with some friends and no one is organizing or taking the lead, then you might say, Hey guys, I'll take the wheel, and you're saying that you will take responsibility for booking and organizing the trip. We don't really want AI taking the wheel completely. We do need to keep some control as humans. The way we educate humans needs drastic change. Drastic. Drastic. Drastic can be translated as radical or extreme. Or at least something that has a strong and long-lasting effect. If the company is making drastic reductions on staffing levels, it means that a lot of people will lose their jobs because the reduction is extreme. If you take drastic measures to solve a problem, it means that something extreme needs to be done to stop the situation getting worse. Drastic. They're underpaid and they're overstretched. Overstretched. Overstretched. If teachers are overstretched, it's a good example, it means that the demands on them are excessive. It's too much for them. There are too many tasks to do and not enough time or resources to do them. It often means that the quality of their work suffers for it. We can use it to describe anyone who has too much to do in their job and is exhausted by that. We can also use it to describe money and budgets. If the budget is overstretched, it means the money is going to too many different places and we don't have enough to actually make a positive impact. But there are still areas where humans have the upper hand, at least for now. Upper hand. Upper hand. If someone has the upper hand, they have control or a dominant position in a competitive situation. You'll hear this a lot in sports competitions. A commentator might say Manchester United have had the upper hand in the first half. Um actually you won't hear that, not in 2025. But if you did, it would mean that they were the better team. The expression actually comes from arm wrestling where the player with the upper hand, who was stronger, literally had their hand on top of the other player's hand, and that's how you win. Maybe I'm being naive. Maybe AI is already there. Naive. Naive. If you describe someone as being naive, it means that person is showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment on what is happening. Often used when someone is looking at a situation with innocent eyes, when really something more serious or maybe bad is happening. Some people may say that Donald Trump's supporters are naive for believing that this man has our best interests in his political decisions. It means they believe something, but maybe with a lack of wisdom or poor judgment. These are not my views, by the way. I'm not here to get into US politics. Actually, I can't think of anything worse. We risk raising a generation that's already obsolete by the time they turn 18. And finally today, obsolete. Obsolete. If something is obsolete, it is no longer produced if we're talking about physical things, or it is out of date if we talk about non-physical things. We talked about our human skills being obsolete, and it means that they are out of date and not relevant or useful in the modern world anymore. It's a really strong word to use, especially in a topic like this, but that's why I used it. I wanted to give some power and some impact to my sentence and make you think, what? Am I going to be obsolete? Oh no, I have to do something about it now. And that's it for today's episode. Thanks for listening. Hey, come and join me on Sunday in the One British Tea Room. If you go to patreon.com/slash one britishman, you can find all the information you need to join the One British Tea Room on Sunday. It's a Zoom lesson, it's a group lesson where we discuss this episode and we can learn even more language and you can ask your questions as well. It's really fun, there's no pressure, you don't have to speak, but you can. You can write, you can just sit back, drink a cup of tea, and take in the new English language. It's only 10 euros for a whole month, that's four episodes. That works out at 2 euros 50 for a lesson. I'm not sure you'll find it that cheap anywhere else. And when I say cheap, I don't mean poor quality. This is premium stuff. Have a good rest of the week, everyone, and I will see you very soon.

SPEAKER_00: 20:46

I fell down, it hurt me, clutched my kneecap, searched for instant relief, called her name, screamed in fact, but settled for a melted ice pack. Over and over again, we know only you can number. Only you can number one I love, the one I hate.