+ THREE INSIGHTS FOR THE WEEK
1. As artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to expand, the ability to engage in nuanced decision-making can help humans stay employable.
Amid nonstop technological change, leaders must commit to a program of efficient, continuous, rapid learning, said Vanessa Tanicien, director of client success at LifeLabs Learning, a management training consultancy.
“Machines are going to do a lot for us in the future, but one of the things that they will not be able to do are some of those human-flavored skills,” Tanicien said at the recent EmTech Next conference. “Take the time to double down on learning, because that’s what is going to keep us different [from] the machines.”
Tanicien highlighted two skills that are essential to continuous learning:
• Extraction
- the process of applying learning to diverse situations to understand root causes, events, and results and to identify systemic problems.
• Transfer
- intentionally moving knowledge from short- to long-term memory and then applying the new learning to other business situations.
2. It’s often said that economic advancement comes down to who you know. That might include relatively distant connections.
A recent paper co-authored by MIT Sloan professor Dean Eckles and Eaman Jahani, PhD ’21, details a positive correlation between evidence of economic well-being and a greater number of long ties — people who you know but with whom you share no other mutual connections. This could include a childhood neighbor, a former colleague, or a college roommate.
By examining public interactions among all Facebook users in the U.S. over a six-month period, the researchers found that people who move out of state, attend college out of their home state, or transfer to another high school tend to have more long ties and are more likely to be better off financially as a result.
Maintaining relationships with long ties takes work — and the disruption from moving can be difficult — but it results in a more diverse network and increased access to economic opportunities, the researchers found.
“If a close friend has valuable information, it’s likely the same valuable information that a lot of mutual friends have as well,” Eckles said. “Long ties give you access to information and opportunities you wouldn’t have otherwise.”
3. Would planting a trillion trees help to mitigate global warming? The idea has been touted by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Republican leaders.
But new analysis by MIT Sloan professor John Sterman and Andrew P. Jones, executive director of the nonprofit Climate Interactive, indicates that the plan wouldn’t work, partly because of the long lag time for trees to reach maturity and absorb large amounts of carbon.
As reported in The Washington Post, the pair used the En-ROADS global climate simulator, developed by Climate Interactive and the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, to determine that planting a trillion trees would prevent only 0.15 degrees Celsius (0.27 Fahrenheit) of warming by 2100.
The simulator also indicated that planting a trillion trees would sequester only 6% of the carbon dioxide that the world needs to avoid emitting by 2050 to meet the goal of the Paris climate accord.
“Trees are great,” Sterman told the Post. “But the reality is very simple: You can plant a trillion trees, and even if they all survived, which wouldn’t happen, it just wouldn’t make that much difference to the climate.”
+ IDEAS THAT MATTER
How the industrial metaverse helps solve real-world problems.
The industrial metaverse enables more resilient supply chains and localized manufacturing through the use of existing tools such as digital twins.
While the metaverse has been most closely associated with elevated shopping and entertainment experiences for consumers, the industrial sector has pragmatic designs on using it to improve collaboration, optimize operations, and train manufacturing talent.
The suite of tools for constructing the industrial metaverse includes digital twins, artificial intelligence, extended reality, blockchain, 5G connectivity, and cloud and edge computing.
At a recent event hosted by MIT Technology Review, experts discussed how the industrial metaverse links real and digital worlds to enable collaboration while solving real-world business problems. Potential use cases include:
• Improved design and engineering.
Team members from different departments or locations can work in a collaborative setting. Realistic simulations allow for more extensive testing and validation. •
Virtual commissioning and plant design.
By using immersive digital twins, manufacturers can design shop floors in the metaverse, enabling them to detect and correct errors without disrupting ongoing production or incurring unnecessary investment risks. • Enhanced operations. Through simulations and real-time data collection, manufacturers can garner insights to optimize equipment, minimize downtime, and predict and prevent failures.
• Upskilling of employees.
The metaverse gives employees remote access to expert skills and virtual training regardless of where they are physically located.
Article link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-leaders-should-commit-program-continuous
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