- it is not reflected in this markdown, but we really enjoyed lining up in order of interest
- Is there a TED talk? Yes.
- could be more balanced: can we find a video for that? One that possibly touts the benefits of automation? Maybe the kinds of jobs that would be replaced are dangerous, and people would benefit from not doing them.
- white collar jobs are also on the chopping block: traffic lawyer bot, coding actually could be automated.
- come up with a job that would be automated. What are the downstream effects? Who's jobs are at risk? Who are the winners and losers?
- flip flop arguments. If you are for automation, you will argue against automation and vice versa.
- can we use sci-fi, fiction, Black Mirror?
- KYLE - line people up on the spectrum (have them write names on the whiteboard) of how they feel about automation + frame session - 5 minutes
- LUCY - introduce discussion questions - 1 minute
- LUCY - play video - 15 minutes
- GABBY - small groups of 4 or 5, put discussion questions on board. Say "Go in order". (any way works, we will join groups, to keep them on time and on topic) - 15 minutes
- MIKE facilitates - then get back together and those on one end of the spectrum have to share benefits or drawbacks (depending, and avoid the word 'argue') synthesize into 3 points and send one person to write it on the board. - 7 minutes
- MIKE - open it up for discussion - however long we need
- How serious an impact do you think automation will have on our economy from now until you retire?
- Who are the winners and losers in automation?
- What do you think it means to be a responsible citizen around this issue?
- What role can Turing play in advancing civic responsibility in response to the challenges automation will bring?
*Our mission is to unlock human potential by training a diverse, inclusive student body to succeed in high-fulfillment technical careers.
As your technical careers progress, most of the work you will do is to automate processes that have been done manually. Our mission is to “unlock human potential.” The software we write enables it’s users to be more productive, and to direct energy toward solving increasingly difficult problems. However, some automation, especially of physical processes, can force some out of the jobs they’ve done for years. This has the potential to do more harm than good for inclusion in our society.
Survey Questions to share with instructional staff by Wednesday of the same week.
- What value would you assign to this session (from 1-5)?
- What are you taking away from this session?
- What role, if any, does Turing play in taking responsibility for this issue?
Send pre-reading out at least 24 hours before the session
- "Machines for Thinking" (The Economist: October 1, 2015)
- "The Rise of the Robots by Martin Ford / Humans Need Not Apply by Jerry Kaplan – review" https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/01/the-rise-of-robots-humans-need-not-apply-review (The Guardian: October 1, 2015)
- "Jerry Kaplan: Humans Need Not Apply at Google" (Google: November 12, 2015)
- What should the group size be for discussions? (Recommend 3-4)
- How should groups be set up? (Recommend some meaningful grouping)
| Set Up | Materials Needed |
|---|---|
| Students should start the session seated in their groups. | Participants need notebooks, pens. |
| Timing | Facilitator Talking Points | Participant/Facilitator Actions |
|---|---|---|
| 5 min | Introduction: Welcome participants. Introduce yourself and your role. Review the outcomes for the session and the connection to the greater Turing mission. Ask students to introduce themselves to their small group if they do not know each other. | At facilitator's prompting, students should introduce themselves to others in their group. |
| 5 min | Warm Up: Kick off an activity where students will organize in the room along a spectrum of their attitudes toward automation. Describe one end as representing people who feel strongly that automation is, as Elon Musk says, "summoning a demon." On the other end, people who feel automation is going to take humanity to new, positive, exciting potential. | Facilitator will instruct students to line up in between these poles as appropriate. At facilitator's prompting, students should line up along the spectrum of attitudes toward automation. |
| 2 min | Introduce video and reflection questions to students. 1) How serious an impact do you think automation will have on our economy from now until you retire? 2) Where do you think you fall across the spectrum of people that will be affected by these changes? 3) What do you think it means to be a responsible citizen around this issue? 4) What role can Turing play in advancing civic responsibility in response to the challenges automation will bring? |
Facilitor will display questions on screen. Students get out paper and pen to prepare for video. |
| 15 min | Kick off "Humans Need Not Apply" video. | Students should take notes during the video. Ask them to put away cell phones/computers if needed. |
| 10 min | Kick off "Do labor-saving robots spell doom for American workers?" video | Remind students to review questions and take notes. |
| 5 min | Invite students to reflect further on the questions in writing. | Students should be writing. |
| 13 min | Introduce discussion section: Students should identify a timekeeper, a faciliator, and a notetaker. Each student should spend about 2 minutes sharing what surfaced during their writing. After individual sharing, the group facilitator can help the group decide what themes from people's writing to discuss in more depth. | Facilitator: walk the room and listen to group discussions. Identify a few key points or themes from the small group discussions that you might want to share with the whole group |
| 5 min | Close the session with reviewing the outcomes and highlighting a few talking points from discussions. Remind students to respond to the survey questions on this session in their afternoon retro. |