A new study by the
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research and analysis division of The
Economist Group, rated the U.S. ninth in its “automation readiness” index—behind
South Korea, Germany, Singapore, Japan, Canada, Estonia, France, and the U.K.
The study looked at policies to promote technological progress, creation of new
businesses, and the development of policies and skills to help manage a
transitioning labor market.
“If
countries need a long-term strategy to deal with the challenges of automation,
education must be at the center of it,” stated the report, which ranked the
U.S. ninth in terms of its education policies. Students will need
human-centered soft skills, such as critical thinking and communication, as
well as grounding in certain hard skills that will need constant upgrading throughout
their working lives as technology continues to advance. Adequately preparing
those students will require changes to both curricula and to how educators
themselves are trained.
“Very
few countries are taking the bull by the horns when it comes to adapting
education systems for the age of automation,” said Saadia Zahidi, head of
education, gender, and employment initiatives for the World Economic Forum. “Those
that are have long had a clear focus on human capital development.”
“We’re
in a stage of experimentation,” noted James Bessen, executive director of the
Technology & Policy Initiative at Boston University School of Law, “and I
think it’s going to take us a couple of decades to figure out which policies and
approaches work and which don’t.”
Considering
it’s starting out behind among developed nations, those decades may be a luxury
the U.S. can’t afford. The five highest-performing countries have already begun
reshaping teacher education for the needs of the automated future.
