68
Volume:
2017
,
March

Authentically Artificial

Submitted By:
Meghan Tally, Windward School, Los Angeles, CA

“The Rise of AI Makes Emotional Intelligence More Important” by Megan Beck and Barry Libert
Harvard Business Review,  February 15, 2017

In this short synthesis, Megan Beck and Barry Libert (co-authors of The Network Imperative: How to Survive and Grow in the Age of Digital Business Models) overview the age’s dramatic challenge to our lives and careers. Essentially, because not only “doing” jobs but also “thinking” jobs are being (and will be) affected as machines become more and more sophisticated, Beck and Libert highlight the importance of emotional intelligence. They advocate for a “focus on skills and capabilities that artificial intelligence has trouble replicating – understanding, motivating, and interacting with human beings.” The skills to prioritize as society changes are what they call “human capabilities” such as persuasion, identifying leaders, navigating politics, social understanding, and empathy. Beck and Libert’s three-part advice includes: not spending energy on fighting the technology, examining one’s own people skills (in terms of strengths and weaknesses), and developing greater emotional intelligence through experience and training opportunities. As we continually consider our curricular and co-curricular programs, this piece inspires reflection for educators around how we are preparing our students and ourselves for a changing world.

Categories
Technology
Psychology & Human Development
Curriculum