Purposes, Algorithms and Real Skills

Abstract

Technology has always affected society by changing patterns of employment. With computers, particularly Artificial Intelligence, products and services can be provided more efficiently but at the human cost of job losses. Many traditional skills have been undercut, and for people to have satisfying employment we need to identify the areas in which human skills remain important. By recognising the nature of algorithmic processes, in contrast with purposeful ones, we see that the human skills of caring, motivating, negotiating, and inventing remain as the real skills that our society has to value.

Introduction

The advent of computers in the last century has made a significant change (for at least some) to what it means to be human. “Artificial Intelligence” has caught the public imagination, with the “Turing test” [1] as a touchstone for distinguishing a human from a computer in a conversation. And the progressive introduction of the use of computercontrolled machine tools and factory automation has made dramatic changes to the nature of work and economic activity for many people. This note explores the relationships between computers and people, seeking to identify the balance that will make best use of both without losing the value of the other.

In this paper we look for the kinds of work that people will do, in contrast with the kinds of work that computers can do (and in general will do more efficiently). People need gainful employment, to be active participants in a community.

Some traditional skills can be expressed algorithmically, but there are significant human abilities (not always recognised to be skills) which cannot. With the advances in automation, particularly with “Artificial Intelligence”, the industrial and economic structure of employment is changing, and it is important to recognise the value of “real” skills which cannot be carried out by automata. We investigate this distinction by focussing on the purpose of an algorithm in contrast with the algorithm itself, and the resulting behaviour.