Can educators prepare young people for a ‘world without work’?
The change has already begun
A student sits in a classroom wearing a headset. Image generated using ChatGPT-5. Estimated energy use: 4,402 joules (MIT Technology Review), equivalent to charging a phone for 15 mins or using an electric toothbrush 200 times (Techradar)
Writing in the 1930s about the ‘Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren’, JM Keynes predicted a near future in which technological advancements in productivity would mean a 15-hour work week and lives full of leisure.
That hasn’t transpired, yet. But with recent developments in emerging technologies, specifically artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, a world where machines do the work for us seems just over the horizon. Educators need to start thinking now about how to prepare the next generation for this future.
It has already begun. It is likely that roles such as copywriter, junior software developer, voiceover artist and session musician are already in trouble. Short form media content will likely be one of the first aspects of the media in which AI takes over completely. I was initially sceptical about AI’s ability to generate entertaining content, but the influencer-style siege of Troy videos proved me wrong. How long will it be before AI is churning out Bridgerton-style streaming shows?
The machines are coming for the physical world too. Anyone who has seen Elon Musk’s dancing robot must be at least a little bit afraid.
Why it is different this time
Technological advancements have always been met with ‘automation anxiety’. However, for the most part they haven’t resulted in systemic unemployment. Keynes’s prediction of the 15-hour work week didn’t come true, after all.
There are convincing arguments that this time it’s different. That’s partly because previous technological advancements were domain-specific. For example, the advent of the tractor required fewer farmhands to work the plough, but the impact was confined to agriculture.
AI on the other hand threatens to revolutionise many, if not most, sectors of the economy, simultaneously. This is especially true if AI makes the leap to artificial general intelligence (AGI). Where AI technology focuses on specific tasks e.g. ChatGPT is a chatbot, Veo3 makes videos, etc., AGI can perform the multitude of intellectual tasks that a human can. This might even include improving itself. Sam Altman, of OpenAI, believes we might reach AGI as soon as 2027.
It is also different this time because previous technological advancements largely automated routine tasks, such as assembling car parts in a factory. But AI is already automating complex, information-based tasks, such as building spreadsheets and websites, making movies, or helping cars to navigate cities.
Complex physical jobs, such as a camera operator on a film set, look safer for now. But if physical film production is replaced by virtual AI production, there’ll be no need for cameras or camera operators. In the meantime, even if we stick with cameras, the pace of development in robotics will determine whether we still need human camera-operators. The same goes for plumbers and personal trainers.
A world with less work, rather than a world without work
The phrase ‘world without work’ is taken from Daniel Susskind’s prescient 2020 book on the subject, and a lot of my ideas here are really his. But even Susskind admits that we’re really looking at a move to a world with less work rather than no work. A world where machines are cheaper and more effective at many tasks, and so gradually replace people, but where there remain certain jobs which are better performed by humans, and even where new jobs arise as a result of the technology.
So, given all this, what can we as educators do to prepare our young people for the future?
1. Train young people in emerging technologies
Technical and vocational training has to be one pillar of our approach. We need technical people who can code, who can build and maintain data centres, who can design the user interfaces through which people access AI services. We need to train them to use Large Language Models such as ChatGPT, so they can prompt them effectively to get the outcomes they want, and verify and critically analyse the information they’re given.
We should think about how our young people can use virtual reality and augmented reality, do they know about the ‘internet of things’, can they understand the principles of data science?
The technology and the tools will change quickly. So we need a technical curriculum that can change quickly with it (so I’m not sure that T-Levels in the UK are the answer).
Adult education and training needs a rethink too. Regular retraining and topping up of skills will be necessary in a changing labour landscape.
But because the technology will change rapidly, we also need to think beyond technical training and develop the human attributes where real people retain the edge.
2. Develop the ‘human skills’ of young people
For the moment at least, there is a vast array of things at which people are still better. These include showing empathy, thinking creatively - especially in terms of generating original ideas, and being curious. As educators, we should aim to teach these attributes. Creativity, for example, can and should be taught. At my school, the London Screen Academy, we have had some success in proactively teaching it.
Given the speed of technological development, our young people will need to nurture curiosity, develop a love of learning, and embrace failure. This can be difficult stuff to teach, as any teacher who has delved into the Growth Mindset will know. But in a rapidly changing world, those who are willing to experiment, learn and take risks will stand the best chance of avoiding being left behind.
At our recent end of year event for the Film and TV Educators Network, Jane Featherstone, Co-founder and CCO of the production company SISTER, pointed to soft skills and professional behaviours as the key attributes that young people will need to succeed in the screen industries of the future. It’s about asking questions, showing initiative, handling conflict, and leading others. At the London Screen Academy, we have a dedicated programme for developing these behaviours in our students, in part based on the skillsbuilder framework.
3. Teach our students to be the leaders of tomorrow
The world of these future technologies will need a cohort of young people who can understand and shape the social, economic and legal effects of this technology.
For example, the economic impact of a ‘world of less work’ will be huge. The value of our labour is likely to continue to decline, with a bigger share of the pie going to the owners of capital such as those holding shares in the big tech companies or the owners of data centres. Ambitious ideas around redistribution of wealth are likely to be needed. Whether that’s a universal basic income, wealth taxes, or other solutions, we need trained economists with the imagination and foresight to solve the problems that the tech revolution throws at them, and a general populace with adequate citizenship education to understand the global forces that are affecting their lives and the knowledge of how to influence public policy for more equitable outcomes.
There are other roles which we need our young people to take in this new world. They will need to understand the law, philosophy, and environmental science, so that they can regulate AI, protect the intellectual property of creators, use AI ethically, and safeguard the natural world.
4. Help them to find meaning beyond work
For many, work provides a sense of purpose, a community, and an identity. In a world of less work, our young people may struggle. We may need to help them explore what a good life is without work at its core. This question goes back to at least Aristotle, with myriad answers ranging from family life, volunteering, hobbies, enjoying nature, and social connection. It is ripe for exploration in schools and we should be doing more of it anyway.
5. Improve our own understanding of the future of technology
We can’t help our students if we don’t understand the world they’re heading into. There are some stark statistics on the differing levels of professional development that independent school teachers are receiving in AI compared to state school teachers, too. Luckily AI does make it easy to learn all about AI. We will also need a healthy mix of energy, caution, and optimism if we’re to prepare our students for the world they are heading into.
The Film & TV Educators Network is considering how we can support educators to address how AI developments in the screen industries, and in education, will affect us in the years ahead. If you’re interested in attending, make sure you’ve signed up to our newsletter on our website.
Next steps for educators
If we accept that technological progress is likely to reduce demand for labour for our young people, then we should be:
Designing courses and building schools to help them embrace emerging technologies
Training our young people in the ‘human skills’ that machines are unlikely to replace anytime soon
Teaching our students to lead in a world of unprecedented political and economic upheaval
Helping students to find purpose, community and identity in a life without work at its centre
Building our own understanding, as educators, of how the world might be shaped by emerging technology
If this is happening, we need to get ahead of it. Let’s start now.
What do you think?
Have I got it right?
What have I missed?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Jamie Waller is the Co-Founder of the Film & TV Educators Network, and Assistant Principal for Teaching & Learning at the London Screen Academy.
If you are a film/media educator and would like to contribute a blog post to our website, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
