The Robot Factory

Abstract

According to modern educational standards, a computer fits the profile of an ideal student and could certainly be programmed to do well on standardized tests. These are also the characteristics of the model employee, which is why we feel so economically threatened. However, the dire predictions about the obsolescence of human intelligence have not played out because the economic premium for being an educated human has increased over the past 20 years. The reasons: (1) Experiments pitting human chess players against computers actually demonstrate the uniqueness and power of human intelligence. (2) Being educated is not the ability to perform tasks on various lists of educational standards that often read like product specifications in a robot factory. Those who understand that education is much more than remembering and performing are advantaged in many ways. However, we have created an educational system mired in training children to be better robots instead of educating them to become better humans. But there is a widespread willful ignorance of what it means to be human. Denying many essential elements of our humanity has served the economic self-interests of the elite, but its continuation comes with great risks to everyone.