Matthew GriffinFounder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
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Debbie and Sharon at the University of Greenwich in London invited Matthew to keynote the university's inaugural student get together, where he and speakers from around the world shared their views on the future and the technologies and trends shaping it.
In a keynote he titled Limitless, Matthew showed the university's undergraduates why they are the most powerful versions of themselves that have ever lived, and how they have the potential to change the world at unfathomable speed and cost. He also set out the upside of extreme AI automation, the other side of the AI coin that the negative news cycle rarely covers.
"What would you do if you had access to all the world's knowledge, all the world's skills, and the ability to bring your imagination, whatever it is, to life?"Matthew Griffin, London, May 2023
His argument was that an interconnected world and powerful technologies are giving people new abilities and helping everyone unlock their own unlimited potential. Against that backdrop he asked the students three questions no one had likely asked them before: what would you do with access to all the world's knowledge, all the world's skills, and the ability to bring your imagination, whatever it is, to life?
The students left with those questions, and with the challenge of working out what this opportunity means for them and how they will live their lives in the future.
311 Intelligence
What this means for your leadership team
Talent arrives with new expectations.
The students were told they can reach all the world's knowledge and skills. People who believe that will expect to do more, sooner, in the first roles you offer them. Organisations that still ration access to tools and responsibility will feel the gap.
Automation has an upside to plan for.
The session argued for the other side of the automation story, the one the negative news cycle rarely covers. A leadership team that plans only for risk may miss what its people could build. A balanced plan weighs job loss and new capability together.
Imagination becomes the scarce input.
If knowledge and skills are within reach of everyone, the question shifts to what people choose to build. The three questions Matthew posed are a useful test. Ask them of your own staff, and see how many can answer.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
What would our people build if skills were no barrier?
Which of our roles assume knowledge that is now easy to reach?
How do we plan for automation's upside, not only its risks?
The trends and technologies behind this session
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
What does the Limitless session mean for organisations?
It suggests that new entrants will bring higher expectations of what one person can achieve. Organisations should review how they give people access to knowledge, tools and trust, and plan for the upside of automation as well as its risks.
How does skills democratisation relate to this session?
Skills democratisation describes tools that let people code, design, write and analyse without years of training. It is the practical form of the idea that all the world's skills are within reach, and it changes who can do what in your teams.
How does job automation relate to this session?
Job automation is the trend behind the upside Matthew described, as employers automate tasks across office and factory work. The session asks leaders to look at what people can do with that freed capacity, not only at what is removed.
How can 311 brief our leadership team on this?
311 offers a private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector, in person first.
Bring this to your leadership teamA private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. In person first, anywhere in the world.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s session and 311 data.
If Matthew gave this session today
One heavy AI user directs about 18 people's work.
311 Institute's Future of Work research measured what one person can make and direct with AI agents and robots, a practical measure of the limitless potential Matthew described to Greenwich's students.
