Special Edition: Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Work
This newsletter is distributed the last Thursday of the month and contains a variety of resources, links, and reflections on graduate-level career & professional development, higher education, and an occasional detour into neuroscience topics, the area I formally trained in as a graduate student and postdoc.
Missed the inaugural newsletter from January 2021?
Generative artificial intelligence exploded onto the scene in late 2022 and has engendered by awe and anxiety in many. Will the rapid advancement of these technologies free human beings from mundane tasks to lead better, more fulfilled lives? Will they replace millions of jobs and leave many questioning their purpose in the world? Can both things be true? Ultimately, I believe, technology such as this will make us more human. The question is whether this mean more caring and compassion or more division, skepticism, and fear. AI is an amplifier and it is up to us to chose the output we value as a society. AI can make us more more human and humane but only if we commit to that path.
Paul LeBlanc, president of Southern New Hampshire University, discusses the need for universities to equip students with the skills needed to perform "distinctly human jobs that algorithms cannot do, jobs that only work when people are in relationship with each other". He also speaks to the need for a variety of perspectives to inform the development and deployment of powerful AI technologies to understand the ethics and impact they could have on society.
A wonderful read on what it means to be human in an age of increasingly powerful and efficient artificial intelligence and technological products.
Quote from the piece: What achievements do we hope for? Knowledge is a kind of achievement, and the development of an ability to gain it is more than AI can provide. GPT-5 may prove to be a better writer than I am, but it cannot make me a great writer. If that is something I desire, I must figure it out for myself.
Our sense of self-worth and efficacy ultimately comes from within, not from the external world's "valuation" of our output.
John Warner writes in Inside Higher Ed on how the emergence of ChatGPT and other generative AI technologies and their application to school work and standardized tests should make us think deeply about how we educate students. If ChatGPT can pass a variety of standardized tests which contain concepts and details that many professionals don't use in their work, perhaps we aren't effectively training and assessing learners on what skills and abilities really matter?
Programs Worth Promoting
Princeton University's GradFUTURES Forum is hosting several virtual workshops and sessions TODAY, March 30, as well as March 31 & April 1. Topics range from harnessing neuroscience for effective and memorable communication to giving a great talk and technical leadership.
The NPA's SmartSkills program returns in 2023 featuring webinars on a variety of topics related to postdocs' career and professional development and well-being.
And check out the NPA's Resource Library for more guides and resources including a guide to the postdoc timeline, mentoring, and more.
While this piece was originally written a few years ago, its points are as relevant now as ever with the mass popularity of ChatGPT. A key take-home point from this piece? Embrace your humanity and transferrable skills to remain relevant in the future.
As more health data are amassed and artificial intelligence and machine learning become more powerful, expect a future where personalized medicine is the norm and access to data on your overall health becomes commonplace.
Historically, capitalism has pushed for a globalized and hyper-efficient world order. However, this has left many individuals at risk of surviving and thriving in the modern world. What to do about this?
