The AI Revolution, Education, Employment, and Our Middle Class – Our Battle of Britain
Eighty-five years ago, in the Battle of Britain, the British defeated the German Air Force not just with courage but by uniting for survival. Today, America faces a challenge every bit as defining, not of bombs, but rather converging threats to our youth and middle class, driven by education gaps and rapid technological change.
We’re in the midst of a technological revolution where the nature of work, required skills, and wages are changing rapidly. Simply put, too many Americans are unprepared for the world ahead, with profound consequences for our middle class.
Like the British in 1940, this demands an urgent, unified and bipartisan response. But it also offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to grow our middle class.
On our current path three groups are most at risk.
First, young Americans who are struggling at a fundamental level and will enter adulthood lacking basic skills. You see this in chronic absenteeism and disengagement. Second, high school graduates who don’t pursue any post-high school training. Third, college students who pursue fields not in demand.
The ground beneath us is shifting rapidly. AI will transform white-collar jobs. Robotics will disrupt assembly lines, construction sites, elderly care, and everything else. This isn’t science fiction; it’s coming faster than we can process.
But this also presents a massive opportunity, much like the Second Industrial Revolution where the introduction of the assembly line created new jobs, raised wages, lowered the price of products, and helped jump start the American middle class.
In similar ways the AI revolution will also drive huge economic growth, provide access to remarkable tools and create new high paying jobs that require new skills. If we act now we can leverage this transformation to reverse the trend of the last few decades and actually rebuild the middle class.
This is clearly a huge national challenge that will require action at the state and federal level, but ultimately execution lies at the community level, where we will need to augment the work done by schools to ensure youth can succeed. Here are five specific thoughts:
Career Exploration: Systemically help students from middle school through high school understand their interests, strengths, and what skills are needed for the future. Every student should leave high school with a realistic plan. It may involve an apprenticeship, community college, 4-year college, or starting a business, but it should be framed within the AI and robotic-enabled world we are moving into.
Comprehensive Mentoring: Provide one-on-one mentors to select youth from middle school through high school into early adulthood. Employ mentors across a range of needs – from helping students understand a career field to providing individualized support for behavioral or social-emotional development. At a minimum, consider pairing every high-risk student with a mentor. To support this high demand for mentors develop a network of volunteers that taps into the business community, university students, and the vast retiree population.
Apprenticeships: Institutionalize apprenticeships in both high school and community college on a grand scale to create clear pathways to middle‑class careers in the new technological economy. Use tax incentives to encourage employers to generate apprenticeships—from emerging manufacturers and innovators to major corporations. And increase federal funding support to at least $10 billion. This year federal support of apprenticeships is about $400 million versus about $30 billion for Pell Grants.
AI Skills: Teach students to understand and effectively use artificial intelligence tools by integrating AI concepts into curricula, providing hands-on experiences with AI systems, and cultivating an environment where students learn to collaborate with intelligent technologies as part of human problem solving.
Public education. Expand the scope of public education to include community college and credits for post-high school training. Partner with high schools to increase dual-enrollment options, enabling students to earn college/community college credits or industry-recognized certifications in high-demand fields while completing high school. Integrate fundamental technological literacy into the high school curriculum to ensure students are prepared for modern career pathways.
These are ideas. Others will surface.
Some moments in history demand we unite with a common purpose. The Battle of Britain was one such moment. Securing the future of our middle class right now is our Battle of Britain.
Like the British in 1940, the choice is ours alone. And if we can overcome our divisiveness to focus on what truly matters, we can use this once in a century opportunity to reinvigorate the American dream.