Frances Valintine, Founder of Tech Futures Lab and the Founder and Chair of The Mind Lab by Unitec, discussed the futures of work on day two of the three-day ForesightNZ workshop in Wellington on 27–29 April 2016. Frances’s three main points were:
- Four billion more people will soon have access to the Internet – we need to ask ourselves what kinds of innovation will occur when more people can self-educate and can connect with experts.
- The world’s population is growing rapidly – given current projections, the world’s population will exceed 10 billion by 2050. This population growth will put pressure on the workforce.
- Automation and increased technological efficiencies require fewer people to do the same jobs – the tension in the workforce is more acute due to technological development and the increasing automation of jobs.
You can watch the video of her presentation on the McGuinness Institute’s YouTube channel, or view it below.
Frances left participants with the idea that the current 40-hour work week framework might change, and we need to be prepared for this shift.
ForesightNZ playing cards
Frances’s presentation led to the development of the ForesightNZ Event Card: Robotic teachers are manufactured in Northland and sold in NZ and overseas. This card is one out of a pack of 64 that was developed at the ForesightNZ workshop. Participants created a robust foresight tool in the form of a pack of cards based on the events and trends that they believe could significantly shape New Zealand’s long-term future. They then designed three different games to play with the pack. The games aim to develop a deeper understanding of the possible futures that might occur if a small number of those cards played out in real life. The pack of cards are in the final stage of production and will soon be made available to download, print and cut your own – keep an eye out on the website. They are also available to purchase from our online store. The accompanying booklet is now published on the website and available to purchase here.
About the ForesightNZ workshop
Project: ForesightNZ aims to build public policy capability in New Zealand by encouraging long-term, agile thinking around our uncertain future. Initiated in 2008, ForesightNZ is about conceptualising the broad range of possible futures for New Zealand through up-to-date tools and conceptual approaches used in the field of futures studies. The primary focus of the ForesightNZ: Untangling New Zealand’s long-term future workshop was to develop a way to deal with the increasing complexity and uncertainty in the world around us. This workshop was a collaboration between the New Zealand Treasury and the McGuinness Institute. To watch other speaker presentation videos from the ForesightNZ workshop, head to the McGuinness Institute’s YouTube Channel.