The “Kids can’t use Computers” thread posted yesterday hit home today as my stepson brought me his iPhone because it wouldn’t charge, only to find out that his Chrome Book’s CPU was running 73% loaded with only one application running (steam…no games). So far at approximately 10-15% scanned Microsoft Safety Scanner has already found 2 infected files on his HD.
Ugh…
shudders in Ed-Tech
Something I talk a lot about is the fact that people mistake “facebook” or “youtube” or “tiktok” for “technology”.
Apps designed for the mass market are designed to be easy to use by anyone. To be good with technology is to actually have something of a deeper understanding.
For example (in no particular order):
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Picking parts to build a PC
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Building a PC from parts
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Installling and configuring an operating system including finding and loading all the drivers required
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Describing problems that occur accurately
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Find or Create solutions to problems that occur
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Explaining what you did to solve the problem
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Understanding the underlying systems and why/how they actually work
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Determining what tools you’ll need to do a thing using technology
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Using tools you’ve selected to do a thing using technology
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Programming (General)
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Programming (Games)
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Programming (Hardware level stuff)
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Programming (Web applications/websites)
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Programming (Lower level networking stuff)
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Making technology do stuff it wasn’t originally intended to do
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Using a command-line
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Running a server
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Adapting to new systems
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Learning about new technologies and seeing the potential without being told
Someone who can do several of the above, at any level of competence, that person is probably good with technology. Most people can’t.
It’s going to be really bad in the future because society will need technicians and programmers and competent tech writers and visionaries, but it isn’t going to need people who are really good at watching youtube videos.
I agree but you seem to miss one major thing.
Adult Power users cant imagine not owning a proper computer but we are more and more living in a time where this is no longer required. They used to be a niche thing for nerds. They are becoming so again.
You don’t need a computer to have a fully useable mail client, file storage, text or image editor.
You dont even need a computer anymore to code!
Apple is investing massively in making the ipad into a developer friendly environment, people have tried it and while its clearly not perfect it does work. Many schools nowadays do teach coding logic with puzzles pieces as a side course and its likely that the ability to program will appear to become infantilized for us but it will be in an environment where things are easy and useable by everyone. The need for dedicated coders will disappear.
Disclaimer: i am very optimistic about this next part
This is neglecting the potential for AI to in a few years become better and faster at coding then a whole team is right now.
Its not unlikely technology will evolve to exist only out of 4 things: A database, an Ai genie, sensors, and output deviceslike a screen, speaker or vr set.
You will simply say “Het ai, connect me to our minecraft world” the ai will do the rest to understand your talking about the one you started last week with some friends, retrieve the data it saved about it and output it on your gaming device of choice.
You wont need to understand it anymore then you understand a human mind when you ask it to remember something or tell a story.
We need neurologists and psychologists and and philosophers, even if we can talk to each other.
The idea that AI will make computer skills unnecessary is naive and dangerous. At some point someone somewhere needs to do something.
Sure but the ratio of required neurologist and psychologist for a certain population is rather low, lower then IT specialist. The majority of people are fine socializing, memorizing without fully understanding the underlying mechanics. Its only when a complex problem arises that we need them.
I find there is a different between unnecessary and not required. For the most part, running and maintaining the day to day operations and code, humans wont be required, but in order to progress human society as a whole (a goal wich is not required but we will set regardless) we will find it necessary to have expert human overheersers. Aided by ai themselves we will really only need a few smart and dedicated people to help make a few rare decisions. The massas are free to do, play, learn or be blissful as they like
Provided with enough freedom to dedicate yourself to any possible education there will always be people who will be interested enough to become these experts. With personalized Ai teaching aids more people will also be able to become high level experts quicker. If not only because I myself have greatly own expertise because i recognize gpt4 as the forever patient and personal teacher i never had.
With ai polling and transparancy in who the experts are we can guarantee democratic trust.
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Yeah, I remember downloading what I wanted from Limewire back in the day. I think it’s less ‘kids these days’ and more ‘kids in general’. You have to be suspicious/cautious with these things. Kids are in the perfect intersection of no money and (often) no smarts.
I would reformat my pc monthly as a kid. Only had a 40gb drive so all my files could be backed up to a few DVDs. Probably dumb but I learned a lot being young and making mistakes knowing I have my cracked xp disc ready.
