The Skills Most Predictive of Positive Life Outcomes Are Also Most Robot-Proof

How can we develop skills from a young age to improve our meta-cognition and help us find robot-proof jobs? 
Theoretical neuroscientist Vivienne Ming believes that the definition of what it means to be human is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Ming’s work in AI – which she prefers to think of as augmented intelligence, rather than artificial intelligence – aims to maximize human potential by improving problem-solving skills. The problem-solving and critical thinking skills so fundamental to a humanistic education are in fact more indicative of future health, happiness, and career success than race, gender, grades, or technical skill sets. According to research Ming conducted, a PhD in any subject from any school is more predictive of ability as a software developer than a bachelor’s in computer science from Stanford. Even in today’s high-tech, STEM-obsessed society, the skills that are most important – the skills that will be most robot-proof when machines take over all data-processing jobs – are the same ones that have mattered for centuries. Ming referenced an analysis of the writing of historical leaders that revealed that problem-solving and other so-called “21st-century skills” were predictive of life outcomes in the 17th century. 

Whether she’s working to remove bias from the hiring process (as former Chief Scientist at Gild), delivering early childhood interventions via text message (through Muse, a product of Socos, a company Ming co-founded), or personalizing college education (also through Muse), Ming’s goal is to use technology to maximize human potential. “I realize it sounds like science fiction, but over the next 20-30 years, the definition of what it means to be human will fundamentally change,” Ming said. “Imagine a world where everyone has equal access to an amazing set of tools for understanding and affecting the world, and what truly differentiates us are our different perspectives, our problem-solving, our creativity. And we’re still unique, and we’re still human – but boy, human’s going to mean something different. I’d really love it if we could all play a role in deciding what that means.”