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These days the term Artificial Intelligence (or AI) appears to exist almost everywhere. However, at the same time, it is mixed up with marketing hype, fears of a dystopian future where society is controlled by fear and oppression (think George Orwell, 1984) is aptly summed up by 7 types mis and disinformation (aka #fakenews) created by Claire Wardle. This includes (1) Satire or Parody – No intention to cause harm but has intention to fool. (2) False Connection – When headlines, visuals or captions don’t support the content. (3) Misleading Content – Misleading use of information to frame an issue or individual. (4) False Context – When genuine content is shared with false contextual information. (5) Imposter content – When genuine sources are impersonated. (6) Manipulated Content- When genuine information or imagery is manipulated to deceive (7) Fabricated content – New content is 100% false, designed to deceive and do harm In short, everyone has an opinion about AI. But, less thought is given to the the type of infrastructure, fabric or foundation our children and future generations will require to truly benefit from the potential that AI and emerging technologies promise. Given we are in the throes of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution" (or, 4IR), we are literally on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. 4IR is typically characterised by the fusion of the digital, biological, and physical worlds, as well as the growing utilisation of new technologies such as AI, machine learning (ML), cloud computing, robotics, 3D printing, the Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and advanced wireless technologies, among other emerging technologies. In its scale, scope, and complexity, 4IR will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. Hence, a different approach is required - perhaps from the ground up - that mirrors the post COVID-19 recovery plan across many countries: Restart, Reset, Reinvent. So, where do we start? Right at the beginning .. with Education .. the bedrock of sustainability and future societies. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world as in being able to remake ourselves”. And this is what we mean when we speak about the transformative power of education. After all, our current education system was built for the industrial era and based on a “factory model” which is not appropriate for the 21st century; schools are no longer equipped to address the needs of a post-industrial 4IR world. The whole idea of assembling masses of students (raw material) to be processed by teachers (workers) in a centrally located school (factory) was a stroke of industrial genius. The whole administrative hierarchy of education, as it grew up, followed the model of industrial bureaucracy. The very organisation of knowledge into permanent disciplines was grounded on industrial assumptions. Children marched from place to place and sat in assigned stations. Bells rang to announce changes of time. Does this sound familiar? Sadly, many schools still use these out dated practices. In 2006, Sir Ken Robinson, posed the question "Do schools kill creativity?" to a TED audience; it was one of the first six TED Talks released with viewing figures of circa 50 million. The question was asked again ten years later, and regrettably whilst significant investment has been poured into schools and the education sector across the UK, there is still a fair way to go. If we don't change our schooling system and, by extension, how we educate and nurture our children's minds and innate gifts, we are in danger of establishing a future society in which children are endlessly absorbed (or lost?) in virtual and augmented reality video games, dependent on "pay-per-view", "pay-per-use", and other self-service apps never really needing to go anywhere -- infatuated by a digital world which is seemingly more pleasurable, self-serving, and automatic as compared to anything in the "real world" which requires effort, sacrifice and (in-person) human contact. That said, schools and our education system urgently need to be transformed in order to meet the challenges (and opportunities) afforded by AI and emerging technologies. I hope you've found this episode interesting. It's time to wrap up now and share some closing thoughts. The challenges we face today are unlike any we may have witnessed in the past. We're trying to solve them through an education system that was designed in the 19th century to do something else. In the words of Sir Ken Robinson :- There was a wonderful quote from HG Wells in the early 20th century, and I believe it to be true. He said, "Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe." I think it's exactly right. Our only hope here is how well and how thoroughly and in what way we educate our own children and future generations and the skills and competencies that we cultivate within them. And the current system is inadequately designed to cope with any of that. That's why it has to be revolutionised." To build green economies, we need green societies. We need to "rebuild" and "reinvent" our schools and education system for the 4IR era, we need to change our mindset and establish a community of reformers (e.g., education ministers and policy makers, teachers, parents and researchers). Our mission should include overhauling the age-graded ("factory model") school system and its standardisation of curriculum, instruction, and student behaviour to prepare our young for a demanding and ever-changing workplace whilst also reaping the rewards of a future world of AI and emerging technologies. The society of the future should include schools and "learning environments" in which children of all ages work together on projects that draw from many subject areas whilst remaining relevant and connected to the world outside of the school. In these schools, teachers will work in teams (with others teachers and schools) via an blockchain based peer-to-peer ecosystem of educators (taking inspiration from BEN), leveraging technology that focus on content and skills that can be mastered by individual students working at different paces. Schools where creativity and problem solving are central to a curriculum designed by teachers and students rather than the government or state. Schools will need to offer an environment that understands how to make the AI technology work for them, and how to ensure it’s fair, responsible and ethical applied across all children. Beyond school and in the workplace, employers should introduce ways to cultivate and sustain a culture of lifelong learning and upskilling. Sustainability requires new ways of seeing the world, new ways of thinking about our responsibilities to each other and our world, new ways of acting and behaving as global citizens. Hence why education is the bedrock of sustainability; it can shape the new values, skills, and knowledge we need for future generations. I'd like to close with a quote from John Taylor Gattoo, Dumbing us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling :- “Whatever an education is, it should make you a unique individual, not a conformist; it should furnish you with an original spirit with which to tackle the big challenges; it should allow you to find values which will be your roadmap through life; it should make you spiritually rich, a person who loves whatever you are doing, wherever you are, whomever you are with; it should teach you what is important, how to live and how to die.” Let's join forces to enable an "AI future" that benefits us all -- starting with our children, the bedrock of our society no matter what your culture, ethnicity, country, etc. After all, isn't life about creating a safe haven and brighter future for our children? If we need a reason to come together, surely that's a good place to start? Are you with me? Thanks for listening. Be sure to tune in again for more articles about AI and Emerging Technologies and their impact on society. Until next time, stay safe, well and keep learning!