Codies to the rescue: Beating the Robot

Everything that staff at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA) did in the 1950s is now done through a small phone in their pocket.

Some experts then said not to worry because technology has always created new jobs while purging old ones, displacing but not replacing workers. But lately, as technology has become more refined, the drumbeat of worry has intensified.

More and more, sophisticated algorithms and machine learning are proving that jobs earlier thought to be the sole purview of humans can be done — as well or better — by machines. That is the pace of change in the world from the 50s to now.

But it gets worse.

By the time a present- day 6- year old starts working the technology world would have leaped 300 times higher or more powerful.

Today computers can do blue collar jobs such as being drivers, customer service agents, warehouse managers, e t c. The we b, Art i f i c i a l Intelligence( AI), big data, and improved analytics—all made possible by the ever increasing availability of cheap computing power and storage capacity— are automating many routine tasks. Now, researchers are beginning to see that AI, robotics and new disruptive technology are challenging white-collar professions that previously seemed invulnerable such as was being reporters, forex traders, etc. For example, surgeons already use auto- mated robotic systems to aid with less invasive procedures such as IBM’s Watson which proved that it can diagnose lung cancer from analysing MRI scans much more reliably than real people. In fact, if you’ve read a financial earnings report in the past year or two, you’ve possibly read an article or press release generated by a machine.

So how do we prepare our children to thrive in this future?

"Everything we do, that we know how to do, will be automated," Create Lab Co- Founder/ Chief Executive Officer, Thilan Wickramasinghe says. These will be in the lines of routine tasks of doctors, lawyers, accountants, journalists, bankers, sales executives, etc will be done faster, better, and cheaper by robots. What worries us scribes, but the reality is that gathering information; interviewing people; answering who, what, when, where, why, and how; and writing the results is the daily grind for journalists, information that is machine readable and you have the potential for disruption. So what’s next?

This is where Create Lab comes in. It tries to disrupt the disruption.

Envisioning a future where creativity, coding and computational thinking will be important life skills, Create Lab is an education facilitator headquartered in Singapore providing the essential tools and facilities to assist children to develop digital skills and an inventive mindset, that will empower them to thrive in the 21st century. Equipped with resources and expertise from educators from Oxford, MIT and Singapore's top universities, Create Lab Sri Lanka commenced operations in January this year. Its coding and robotic design workshops have been recognised as Singapore's leading Computational Thinking enrichment programmes and these programmes caters to children in the age groups of 5 to 12 years.

Codies

Create Lab is going to assist kids in learning for the digital future. Just as plumbers and others have been the engine room of the industrial economy, codies will be the engine room of the digital economy.

"We need to encourage design and computational thinking and this does not mean turning your kid into a robot," says Create Lab Co-Founder/ President, Dhruv Vohra.

Coding serves as the communication tool or the language that commands computers to execute tasks. It is the core aspect of creating all software including applications, websites and other digital tools. With this ability to instruct computers to complete tasks comes the possibility of inventing virtual worlds inside the devices. Equipped with imagination and analytical thinking, this opens children to a world of unlimited possibilities.

But coding is only a part of Computational Thinking. "Learning to code is only an expression of Computational Thinking. It is the attitudes and skills of Computational Thinking that allows someone to write a good piece of code. However, learning a specific programming language is a vocational skill which may become outdated as technology progresses," Mr. Wickremasinghe explains.

In an increasingly digitalised world, the skills that will usher in success are going to be one's ability to imagine, create, empathise and solve problems. Computer programming and coding skills are powerful tools that can stimulate and bring forth these already existing abilities within children. Coding helps children improve their analytical thinking and helps them look at the bigger picture. Empowering children to use technology to create rather than just consume, is what Create Lab does best, he says.

The learning environment provided at Create Lab includes role-playing, storytelling, art and music which challenge children to tackle everyday problems by developing solutions through their computer programmes and hardware. Commenting on the work that Create Lab has initiated in Sri Lanka, Create Lab Director, Michelle Pinto told media at the launch recently. "Our main introductory programme Introduction to Computational Thinking (ICT101) will inspire students to become powerful computational thinkers. During our workshops students can code their own computer games, digital art, programme robots and develop hardware. Our focus is to inspire children to experiment, solve problems, identify patterns and use their imagination. These are highly portable skills that will help them excel in school and at home, but most importantly in their future careers."