How AI Can Fix Social Mobility 📈
There are justifiable fears that AI will worsen inequality.
That it will concentrate wealth, reshape industries & result in significant displacement.
We are all scrambling around to figure out how this will play out, but the business community is better placed than schools to shape how well our local young people are prepared for these changes and to shape how easy it will be to hire the skills we will need in the coming years.
Pace of change: Huge fields previously considered core human competencies (e.g. language and image creation) have been automated quicker than anyone expected. Planning and imagination are next. It is unrealistic to expect teachers to know how different sectors will be reshaped by these changes.
Skills gaps: Businesses have a clearer understanding. They know where automation is already taking place, they know the likely areas for what will come next. They know which roles are hard to recruit for and which skills candidates are lacking.
Pathways that add value: Businesses also know what qualifications make you stand out. Is the time and cost of a Masters degree useful? Will a Russell Group degree make a difference? Would an Apprenticeship be a better option?
Of course, businesses don't have all the answers, but there is significant information asymmetry in comparison to the knowledge schools can ever obtain which will only increase.
We need to find a better way to transfer this information.
AI can help.
Traditional 5-day work experience for 15-year-olds is currently the main vehicle. It's wildly inefficient vehicle for this and mostly helps those with family connections.
Our new model uses AI to pair socially mobile 16-25-years-olds with employees at organisations they would like to work for. It uses a data set of over 5 million psychometric tests to smart-match young people and employees who share similar personalities, motivations and reasoning skills. We then organise one-day work shadows where the employee shows the young person their world, explains how it will change over the coming years and gives their advice for how to follow in their footsteps.
A one-day model means young people still get into workplaces but can complete multiple placements, comparing the advice from different employees before making a decision.
For organisations one-day is much easier to host and the smart-matching means they meet young people who have the behavioural profiles they are looking for. They to get to know them and build a pipeline of diverse local talent meaning they can fill new roles quicker.
Given the scale of change, we need a new approach. AI can help reshape how young people step into their careers and even the playing field for those lacking traditional connections.
We have a choice: to passively let AI redefine our social landscape, often at the expense of the disadvantaged, or to actively harness it as a tool for positive social transformation.
