The Post-Knowledge World

About the impact of AI on society, work and human values.

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During the busy speaking period of September and October, combining writing with travelling and speaking was again a challenge. Visiting Berlin, Paris, Utrecht, Alicante, Riyadh, and many more inspirational places around the world was very energising and exhausting at the same time. Although plenty of first ideas were put on paper (read Evernote) during those travels, they still needed to be finalised into a newsletter. As I clean out my notebooks, expect more of these Thought Threads in the coming weeks.

The Post-Knowledge Economy

I'd first like to piggyback on a discussion between futurists William Halal and Gerd Leonhard on the concept of the Post-Knowledge Economy. (link) The post-knowledge economy suggests that Artificial Intelligence is taking over more and more knowledge-based tasks and that machines will handle information processing. According to these world-renowned futurists, Humans must focus more on creativity, ethical judgment, and emotional connection. This concept aligns well with the ideas in Part 5 of my book "Trends in the Transformation Economy" that argued for the need to identify "what it means to be human" again. It's also the core message of my talk "Holistech Futures", which argues for a different role for humans in tomorrow's technological reality.

Impact on human society

Essential in this thought process is the realisation that the core of our human society will be disrupted. Information and knowledge have long defined who we are and what we do in this world. Being smarter than dangerous animals allowed humans to survive even though we weren't nearly as strong. Society and the entire economy are also focused on having (or not having) the information and knowledge at their disposal. The role you play in society, the responsibility you take up, the job you hold or the power?you possess in society are primarily based on information and knowledge.

This order?was already somewhat disrupted with Google democratising information. However, the democratisation of knowledge might now generate even more upheaval. Information and knowledge are bound to become commodities in many parts of life. Sure, those parts will have different speeds, but very few will be spared from this change. It's, of course, impossible to predict when this Tectonic Turn will actually happen. But it won't be sudden. In fact, I'd rather?expect it to be sneaking up on us (already now). But at some point, there will be a tipping point, and we will realise how far and long we have already been in this new reality. So, it's fair enough to start thinking about its impact today.

Impact on work

Work requiring very?little expert knowledge or in-depth reasoning to achieve a basic?service quality will be impacted immediately. It's something we might already see today in various fields in fact. Repetitive tasks related to customer service, administration, data processing and reporting are evolving rapidly. Those tasks were already impacted by previous technological developments as well. It's a fair and straightforward assumption that the value humans generate in those fields will either diminish or disappear. That has been mentioned numerous times, and I no longer want to elaborate on those. Instead, let's focus on the knowledge-exclusive fields of expertise.

Knowledge-intensive work

Knowledge-intensive or high-expertise work, executed by lawyers, financial advisors, healthcare providers, and educators (just to name a few), has long been heralded as a high-end job that only a few could do. For ages, these experts thrived under the exclusive power of knowledge. But that will change as large parts of their knowledge will now be commoditised. This does not mean that their job will cease existing. However, it will radically change their role if many tasks can be automated for them or for the ones (currently still) relying on their services. We can expect more self-service models for a vast majority of their knowledge service. Other parts of their knowledge will be intensified and deepened, still requiring experts like themselves.

Today, it's hard to predict what and how many tasks will be either self-serviceable or?deepened. But their job will be different in this post-knowledge world. Most likely, their job will no longer be valued purely based on their knowledge but on the human value they add to it.

• Assuming that tasks might be more easily automated than deepened, the post-knowledge world will provide more self-service models. The knowledge that was previously the exclusive privilege of a small group of people will now be spread broadly. Social or professional distinction based on that knowledge might quickly diminish or disappear. Unless protected by governmental regulations (and even then...), these commoditised tasks can reshuffle parts of the current societal organisation or economic transactions.

• Assuming that tasks will be deepened faster than automated, the post-knowledge world will require people to treat and interpret the deepened knowledge with even more expertise. This is happening in heavily specialised fields like research and development. For example, Alphafold's discovery of protein folding requires more specialised expertise than a decade ago. The same could be expected in specialised healthcare, where people will need to be able to understand and treat an anticipated tsunami of progress in science and technology. Knowledge progress in those fields will be accelerated, and the expertise to deal with that knowledge explosion will become more valuable than before. At the same time, human value will also here bring much-needed input. Meaning, purpose, and ethical or philosophical considerations are the human values required more than ever to treat this technological or scientific progress.

The Importance of Human Value

Whether tasks are deepened or automated,?human value will be paramount in this Post-Knowledge world.?This new reality will require humans to safeguard the well-being of individuals, society, and the planet more than ever before. This will be necessary at a micro-level (when dealing with automated systems) or at a?macro-level (when making decisions on scientific and technological progress).

This evolution is also at the very core of the Transformation Economy I wrote about in my latest book. After all, the book's subtitle reads, "where health, well-being and happiness matter most." Let that be the exact human value that will be so much needed in this Post-Knowledge world driven by automation and Artificial Intelligence. This is the Transformation that?we all want to see in a world that might sometimes feel like one we don't really?want to live in.

Are you ready to unlock your human value again?

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Author & Professional Keynote Speaker

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