WHY SPORT?
The disruption in traditional businesses and professions bought about by the
internet, the rate of advancement in computing and the speed of development
of machine learning and AI paints a mortifying picture for the future job markets
and traditional careers. These are careers that our entire education
system has been developed around. Preparing people for Professional services,
manufacturing or research.
The most common question we get asked from our parents, and parents in general is, why should i invest in sports? For my child? Besides the obvious physical and health benefits, we at hotfut like to focus on the psychological, social and emotional benefits. This is because it also helps us best answer the question at hand. To make my point clear, i would like to, for amoment, try and gaze into the potential future of jobs, careers, and lifestyles that the next few generations will be living in. The disruption in traditional businesse and professions bought about by the internet, the rate of advancement in computing (a’ la’ moor’s law) and the speed of development of machine learning and ai paints a mortifying picture for the future job markets and traditional careers. (that’s a long sentence, auto-correct just asked me to consider editing structure. I the near future, i’m sure it will do it for me). These are careers that our entire education system has been developed around. Preparing people for professional services, manufacturing or research. Internet is bridging communication barriers to an extent that brokering, trading and any form of arbitration professions that exist due to information asymmetry will soon cease to exist. The advent of 5g (let alone 6 and 7g) is making professional services from legal representation toheart surgery now extendable to people across the world from one common
source.
The ability of machines and AI to compute and execute with extreme precision and efficiency is making traditional manufacturing and engineering obsolete. Everything our traditional education, and
in effect traditional careers are gearing ustowards, are being made redundant by advanced technologies.
In the next 10-15 years the world and jobs as we know it won’t exist the way they do now. So what will exist? What will PEOPLE do?
I think, while Intelligence based (IQ) jobs and careers are being made redundant Emotional based (EQ) and Social-based (SQ) jobs and careers will gain major importance in the future of careers. The
ability of AI and tech to replicate these complex social and emotional abilities that humans possess will take a lot longer.
So, what jobs do these EQ and SQ-based professions encompass? At the top of my head, Sales. The ability to close a deal is a combination of understanding people, feelings, emotions, situations, empathy, and compassion and using these emotional inputs, navigating a convincing
pitch/negotiation is going to be a critical skill of people and emotions.
Other careers like Storytelling, Oration, Music, Art, Psychology, Direction, and Design. Anything that uses creativity and improvisation as a foundational skill set. Skills that are a subset of something imperfect. Not replicable by the cold hand of logic. These are the skills I would place my bet on for the future of jobs and careers. And how do we best inculcate these skills in our children? How do you
teach social skills and emotional understanding?
By experience. By encouraging environments that prompt continuous exposure to the application of these skills. In my limited experience, I have found
sports and competitive games to deliver the maximum instances of these learnings in a limited time frame. The best part of it was, I never even knew I was learning. I was just Playing! My son is all of 4 years old. My education environment choices
are – free play, imagination, music, dance and SPORT. To create an environment that makes him fall in love with the process of learning and discovering itself. To make him emotionally, morally and socially stronger. For everything else he has
Google.
Pavit Singh
CEO – HotFut Sports