An initiative of Dorian Cole and TechGenie Media
Mission: Help communities, especially rural, to be included in the economy and address problems, through educational preparedness, business adaptability and recruitment, and well rounded continuing education.
Why is this mission necessary? Since 1900 rural people have chased jobs into the cities. It's no longer working. Rural areas have continuously become depleted of viable towns and services, leaving areas barren. People going to cities for work are finding they aren't qualified for the new jobs. The economy itself has pushed half of its citizens into the very low end of the economic scale. Deep divisions in the nation have occurred with no sign of healing, but signs of anger and outrage. This isn't a tenable situation.
There are huge challenges. Politicians not only don't have answers, they seem to feel they don't have to create answers, but just make false promises, just like they have done for the last 50 years. Even weak attempts are disowned by the next group in power. And they have steadily withdrawn support for education.
People are almost too independent to work together toward common solutions. Individualism and self-reliance are strong components of the American ethos that sometimes get in the way of success.
The economy is now characterized by
extremes, and needs to be rebalanced. It's a systemic problem for
which no one is directly responsible, worrying economists,
individuals, and the wealthy. The financial sector, which has an
important place in economic development, has grown from 3% of GDP to
7.6% percent so that it is now dictating to business, causing
aberrations that will eventually bring collapse (strong, supportable
statement). And during the Great Recession corporations made record
profits while people lost businesses, homes, jobs, and wages. The
tracking of wages with productivity ended in the 1970s so that people
no longer believe in any part of the American Dream being tied to
business success and hard work.
Businesses in the US are
falling behind other businesses in the world. There is an attitude
that we're the best and don't have to try hard to compete in the
world economy or even here. Japan and Germany outdo us in
automobiles. Medical advances are quickly subsumed by other
countries, and new advances are quickly coming from them.
Manufacturing has fallen to just 8% of the economy, having been
outsourced to other countries, and advanced manufacturing is more a
dream than a helpful reality.
Our sources of job growth are drying up. Corporations are net job destroyers. Under investor pressure to be more lean and mean, they generally buy other companies in Merger Mania that has gone on since the 1990s. They get new technology and markets and gut or close the companies they absorb. Mid-size companies are generally comfortable where they are. Small, entrepreneurial companies are the companies that create new jobs.
Over the next 15 years, 30% of jobs will be displaced by artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics and automation. This includes jobs like radiologists and legal researchers. But often jobs can be enhanced with these technologies. For example, in diagnosing cancer from imaging, doctors have 3.5% accuracy, AI has 7.5% accuracy, but together they have .5% accuracy. And this is a clue to the future of jobs.
These aren't problems we can drag through the 21st Century.
Yes! I believe we can turn this situation around and come out much better and stronger for it, as well as lead the capitalist world in this change. We're not the only ones having this problem.
1. Cooperative efforts work well
between education, business, finance, and public leaders. Around the
world these efforts are working, and the next political
administration can't kill the programs because they are ideologically
opposed or have other priorities. These can not only keep an area
economically viable, they can also successfully target specific
problems.
2. Businesses and communities that provide
education for future jobs keep jobs in the community.
3. Communities that diversify their area businesses survive when a business leaves
4. Communities that provide educational opportunities keep their people and jobs in their communities
5. Certain attributes of towns can draw business, visitors, and residents
6. It's thought that area towns acting as hubs for other area towns may be part of the solution
7. Co-ops. In education.
8. Jobs bring hope of a brighter future to high school students so that they don't drop out, perform better in school, and go on to post secondary education. This is a major problem in many rural communities (as well as inner city pockets of poverty.)
9. Remote work from home jobs
10. Watch for more
Over the next several months Dorian will complete studying these issues through courses and information from MIT, Harvard, World Bank, Annenberg Institute, Brookings Institute, McKinsey Institute, and many other sources.
The output of the investigational stages will be white papers:
At the same time “we” will be reaching out to others who may be interested in being part of this initiative.
At the same time we will begin talking with community and business leaders in how best to engage them and let them be the primary drivers, tailoring this process to their community and discovering new ways to enhance their community.
Dorian invites others to join him in this initiative. It's nonprofit. It's volunteer. There is no compensation at the present time.
Post Secondary Education and Preparedness. Jobs go where there is qualified labor. Wages follow education. Over 90% of jobs created since the Great Recession have required post secondary education. People in rural communities are finding college unaffordable and out of reach, but essential. Way too many who go to college find they are woefully unprepared for college level work, even though there is evidence colleges have lowered their academic standards to gain students. Through a variety of mechanisms, such as college boot camps, MOOGs, and with more focus on AI, robotics, and big data, college courses can be brought to communities. The intent is to result in new business, jobs, and livable wages.
In general, the new jobs of the future will displace mostly workers who aren't prepared for them, but will enhance or provide new jobs for those who are prepared. As important as knowledge is, social skills, creativity, and problem solving will be just as important as people do things computers can't.
Business Adaptability Assistance. The Hostess Twinkie company failed because it wasn't innovative. It didn't adapt to the market. Being able to adapt is essential in this world driven by rapidly changing technology and corporate cannibalism. Creativity is part of the innovation process. We will provide local courses to business leaders and employees on innovation, and to individuals on entrepreneurship, and help connect them to educational and financial resources, for lifelong education and assistance. Our pilot program will work with plastics technology, using recyclable plastics, widely available locally at minimal cost, to create new products. We hope to provide leading courses in material sciences, manufacturing engineering, and other needed courses essential to developing organizations. And help in the formation of a social contract with the community.
Community Education. Oddly enough engineering and art work together in a Greenville, NC elementary school for engineering that people strive to get their children into. Music and math also work symbiotically. Knowledge that is beneficial to humanity doesn't stop at the STEM sciences. The humanities, arts, and hobbies are valuable in enriching life. We will pursue lifelong community education as well. There is an opportunity here for documentaries, which my company TechGenie Media may provide through its division, Movie Stream Productions.
Population restoration. If there are jobs, people will come. Currently some major cities have become economic disasters for some. For example, many nurses are finding they can't afford to live in L.A., and are living in their cars or moving. In beautiful San Francisco, 46% of the people plan to leave, and 53% of all Californians want to leave the State. These are people who can be recruited to repopulate rural areas with excellent education, skills, who will appreciate the less expensive cost of living and less congestion.
Dorian Cole qualifcations in technology and education
Dorian has worked in cutting edge high technology, complex systems, private education, and communications most of his life:
Dorian analyzes and understands high tech and low tech systems, works with them, and communicates them to others at both deep levels, and for operators and managers. This requyires a deep level of understanding how of how people learn most effectively, and to find the most effective ways to do so (should add, without the burden of all of the requirements placed on the school system).
Dorian's current focus is work preparedness for young adults and those who may lose their jobs, in rural areas.
Legal note: the AIP Initiative is a wholly owned division of TechGenie Media, LLC, Licensed and located in Warrenton, MO. The initiative is nonprofit but not a 5013C and doesn't accept contributions as a 5013C. Some statements are forward looking, informed by very competent sources, but may differ from future results.