In Conversation with: Albert Chun on the Future of Work in the Age of AI and Automation (Part 2 of 2)
Guest Post with Albert Chun, Director of AI Operations at Invisible Technologies
This series of ‘In Conversation with’ is designed to shed light on AI’s implications on society and the potential it holds for the future of work and education, as well as the need to bridge the divide between technological innovation and education, policy, and the future of the workforce.
It was my immense honor to kick off this series two weeks ago with Albert Chun, the director of AI Operations at Invisible Technologies. I first came across Albert on LinkedIn, where he writes about AI developments and resources to learn about AI. Albert not only has a great name (😄). He is a fantastic human being and has so much to teach us.
This is the second part of a two-part post. You can catch the first half of the interview here.
Transcript edited for brevity.
Future of work in the age of AI
“Take this with a pinch of salt, but I feel like we are a long way from replacing humans with AI. When I think about all of the infrastructure work and the core human elements, I don’t see that going away remotely anytime soon. I really don’t. We still need to write our content and we still need people to edit those content pieces. Automation is far from flawless, and unless it’s a truly boring workflow that no one cares about – while there are many – the human element is still needed.”
“With all of the innovations [in the AI space], I think policy will need to provide the guardrails around whether it will replace work or create it. For instance, with electric cars, we’ll need service technicians, and people who are trained to maintain and service the battery charging stations. When truly disruptive things happen, it should create new markets for opportunity and entrepreneurship.”
The importance of policy and AI literacy in education
“When I studied policy at grad school, I remember looking at the state standards and found that with, say, nutrition, I struggled to find any more than two standards. And then, with financial literacy, before 2019, almost 99.9% of schools in the US lacked any educational policy or program. Georgia and New Jersey were the first adopters. But why, for centuries, has the public education system never prioritized that? When I taught it at school, there was so much buy-in from my students. You don’t become the leading school in the area year-on-year by not teaching kids how to ratify paragraphs or do math, but I do think it’s important that they know how to write a business email, negotiate, manage people, and manage their time.”
“When it comes to AI, do I think the education system needs to adapt? Absolutely. But let’s ask this. Where is the standard for creativity in the American classroom? Do we acknowledge it at all? What’s the first thing that is put on the chopping board when budgets get tight? Oh, art, music! But how do we foster that? I do think the education system needs a skew away from tasks on memorizing essays to really asking kids what their ideas are, and how to think about a problem.”
When it comes to AI, do I think the education system needs to adapt? Absolutely.
Building the future of education: Synthesis
“One school that I think does this really well is Synthesis, which leans into problem-solving, collaboration, and remote learning. I think schools will look more like that – perhaps, more like the micro school movements that you see in emergent tech hubs where parents are like ‘Wait! Why would I move my child through a one-size-fits-all approach that’s not based on science, but requirements set by the industrial revolution?’”
“I taught in some of the roughest neighborhoods in California and New York – and in New York, some of my kids were getting shot at, people were trying to kidnap them on their way to school, and we had about seven active shooter drills during my time at the school. There were times when I had to confront what I thought was an active shooter, as well as mornings when I changed my drive-in because the kids had told me about a guy in a white van who was trying to pick them up. Every day, I was driving through to ensure people were okay, all while staying up until almost midnight working on lesson plans.”
“The impetus was always that if it weren’t for the teachers in my life, I think I’d be in jail or dead. And it is so important that we nurture our children to be equipped for the twenty-first century. I could not think of a better way to spend eight years of my life when I didn’t have kids of my own to be all in and invest in the classroom.”
“When this is all said and done, I’m going back to the classroom. If there was no money involved, hands down, I’d be a teacher. Teaching is one of the loftiest human endeavors anyone could do.”
Preparing for the future of work in the age of AI
“I think it’s going to be very important for people to build their fluency as much as possible when it comes to AI, and to manage the lethargy or feeling of comfort that they currently have and lean into learning as much as possible. It’s the classic story of disruption! You think you’re safe and everything is fine, and I think that’s how the largest companies and industries may have felt before their way of working came to a halt. They felt insulated from the external changes.”
“Going back to the beginning of this interview, despite saying that we’re a long way from complete automation and disruption of jobs, I do think that with AGI (generalised intelligence), some jobs are under major scrutinity. In terms of the macro economy, where are the movements happening? We still need a lot of manual activity to be done that does not require computers. Where do you get your food, or get your laundry done? How do buildings get built, how do you manage teams, and coach people?”
“The old way of becoming a millionaire was to get an income, build a business, buy real estate. Or join an early-stage startup, cross your fingers, hope it does not die, and pray for the liquidity event. Everyone’s chasing that. But in the meantime, you’re paired with golden handcuffs in this idea that you need a certain lifestyle. At some point, there will be a time when we’re going to rub our eyes and be like ‘wait, this is the only way to have a work-life balance, raise a family, and make money without making my job my entire identity. What if I make my path to a six or seven figure income?”
“I think you either go all in or you look at a parallel path and question if that’s the only way to make money. I’m a little split between those two routes.”
How to join an AI company or improve current performance
“Build fluency. Understand who the thought leaders in your space are and which companies to follow, and maybe even build an Excel spreadsheet to keep tabs on them. Figure out which companies are sharing their revenue status and which brands are hiring, and be very systematic about tracking them.”
“Start using AI tools as an extension of your regular life to build your fluency, and start to build as many interviews as possible. On LinkedIn, see if you can run some outreach. You’ll often have the door slammed in your face, but other times, you’ll create connections like this one. Ones that help you make sharp left turns in your development. All you need is a few people to help you understand what’s out there and build fluency and confidence. Ask them what they manage, what processes they’ve built, how they build consensus, and what their day-to-day responsibilities look like.”
“After your two-hundredth conversation, you’ll be much more refined and polished. You’ll know what to ask. Great interviewers are often measured by the questions they ask. Get to the how and why questions, and you’ll operate on an entirely different level of understanding.”
I am grateful for the conversation with Albert, and I hope you find his story and wisdom helpful.
As many of you know, my new home will soon be in Sydney (I will be moving there in two weeks!). I’m excited to announce my first talk in Aussie: if you’re there, please join me at the Sydney AI + Data Science Meetup on May 21st, where I will talk about, well, you know, AI, honestly. And ethical considerations.
When: 21 May 2024
Time: 12-2 pm
Host: Actuaries Institute
Where: Level 2, 50 Carrington St, Sydney
👉 RSVP: please RSVP to the meetup group for catering purposes 🙌