Artificial Intelligences (AI’s) Versus Human Intelligences (HI’s) – Are We Thinking For Better Or For Worse?

“Digital Skills” are the obvious standouts in today’s world; chances are very high that you feel out of place if you were not holding one of those modern gadgets or tools: cellphone, iPad, laptop, MacBook, MP3 player, smartphone etc. Holding one of those and you “feel you belong,” right? (upper image from pixabay.com).

Here’s a press release from the Philippines, author unidentified (05 Feb 2024, PIDS, pids.gov.ph): “Current Filipino Workers Often Lack Soft Skills To Adapt To Digital Age – PIDS Study.” To quote from the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS):

Filipino workers often lack soft skills like adaptability and collaboration, leaving them ill-prepared for the challenges of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, according to a new study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) titled “Toward Measuring Soft Skills for Youth Development: A Scoping Study”.

“The PIDS study was conducted by De La Salle University Distinguished University Professor and University Fellow Allan Bernardo, PIDS Senior Research Fellow Jose Ramon Albert, former Supervising Research Specialist Jana Flor Vizmanos, and Research Analyst Mika Muñoz. The study “reveals that this weakness in soft skills, also called “Transversal Competencies” (TVC), stems from the administration of training and skills development that are largely geared towards the pre-digital era.”

“The consequences are significant, impacting not only individual career prospects, but also hindering the Philippines’ economic competitiveness and innovation potential.”

Oh oh!

“As we move deeper into the 21st century, the need for a workforce proficient in TVCs becomes increasingly critical,” the authors say.

Just a minute! The Editor In Chief says. “You have your skills all mixed up!” Thinking is not simply the use of modern knowledge tools such as enumerated above but starts with any number of nine intelligences, the ones that Harvard professor Howard Gardner calls “multiple intelligences” (MI), which are:

1. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”),
2. Creative Intelligence (“Thinking Smart”), added by FAH,
3. Existential Intelligence (“Life Smart”),
4. Interpersonal Intelligence (“People Smart”),
5. Intrapersonal Intelligence (“Self Smart”),
6. Mathematical-Logical Intelligence (“Number/Reasoning Smart”),
7. Musical Intelligence (“Music Smart”),
8. Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”),
9. Spatial Intelligence (“Image Smart”), and
10. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence (“Word Smart”).

I call them “Human Intelligences (HI’s), and the use of modern gadgets only amplify those intelligences, not supplant them! (image from Getty)

Again, from the PIDS study:

“Addressing this gap requires a concerted effort from educational institutions, policymakers, and industry leaders to redefine skills development frameworks and prioritize the cultivation of these essential competencies.”

I say the skills to further develop are the MI ones: body smarts, thinking smarts, existential smarts,people smarts, self smarts, number smarts,  nature smarts, spatial smarts, and word smarts.

Yes Sir, yes Ma’am, those TVCs such as “critical thinking and cognitive skills, interpersonal skills, and intrapersonal skills” need to be developed in persons in schools. Unfortunately, these are not enough: we need creative & cooperative thinking!@517

And yes, since nobody can perform all such skills wonderfully, we need contributions from many individuals much of the time!@517