Sociobiologist E.O. Wilson said, “The problem of humanity is…We have paleolithic emotions; medieval institutions; and god-like technology.” I first heard this problem statement for humanity when technological ethicist Tristan Harris used it to support his case for humane technology. Could it also be applied to workplace learning?
1. Paleolithic emotions – There’s a lot of emotions surrounding work. For example, work can make us feel empowered, valued, challenged, proud, and part of a greater goal. On the other end of the spectrum, work can also make us feel frustrated, stressed, anxious, embarrassed, and resentful. Nick Shackleton Jones’ Affective Context Model has informed my process quite a bit in this regard. How can we more effectively take this into consideration when designing workplace learning experiences?
2. Medieval institutions – 4-day work weeks for all was the empty promise of automation during the Industrial Revolution. The sad truth is that most people don’t love their jobs. Instead, many find themselves stuck in systems centuries old: working under someone else in a bond of perpetual adolescence, participating in the absurd exchange of time for money, and storing that money in feudal systems we call “banks”. Cathy Moore’s Action Mapping provides a helpful starting point to go against this. As workplaces start to shift, how can we move from force-feeding training to treating employees like adults who can take charge of their own learning and development?
3. God-like technology – We are no longer limited to the lecture method of teaching. The emergence of the internet, authoring tools, a powerful combination of AI and video sharing platforms like YouTube, and the emergence of MOOC’s have granted us with the ability to learn almost anything from anywhere at a fraction of the cost. Yet, workplace learning has not reaped the same benefits. Donald Clark has some great approaches to how this can change. How can we better leverage technology to serve workplace learning needs?
Curious to hear your thoughts!