#1 SHIP
Please use https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/ to copy and paste the narrative below for the full effects of this speculative future!
Introducing the SHIP (Student Hybrid-Learning Integration Program) which is the latest technology to enhance the learning environment for students. SHIP will personalize learning for students, protect privacy, and create a more efficient workflow at school. The tiny microchip which is to be implanted into the arm of the student will provide many benefits. Students will no longer be required to remember their logins and passwords. Their computers and devices will automatically connect to the network via their SHIP chip. Furthermore, their identity and passwords will always be protected due to the SHIP insertion into the body when taking tests and exams or when logging into computers outside of the network. SHIP will also increase the efficiency and workflow at the school by providing a safe and easy way to pay for food at the vending machines or cafeteria with a simple wave of the arm using the latest R-F-I-D (Radio Frequency Identification Device). Keep all your logins, money, and identity safe with SHIP. Contact us now for pricing programs and subscription options.
Terrifying isn’t it? It may sound extreme but a program such as SHIP may not be too far fetched. There are already businesses that are experimenting with microchip insertion into their employees. Many of the programs are for similar reasons as the SHIP. This speculative future was frightening to write and review but even more troubling when using the text-to-speech reader. What are your thoughts on a program such as this? For more information on businesses doing the same thing please check out: https://businessworld.net/blog/post/61/the-office-of-the-future-microchipped-employees
#2 Optimal Occupation
Jane wakes up on the last day of her senior year at high school. In the past, people were excited for this day. They saw it as their first day into the real world – the beginning of what they could make out of the rest of their lives. To Jane, this was not the case. Jane grew up a dancer – an extraordinary dancer – but she knows that she might never be able to dance. Her Optimal Occupation score was 98 which is among the top of her class. So the OO program decided she must go to medical school to become a doctor. Although Jane thought this was unfair, her teachers and parents explained how it would be a waste of talent if she did not go to medical school. The only thing she heard at the moment was “waste of talent”. Her dreams and passions always fell to dancing, to be on Broadway. She knew she had the talent just like her grandmother who was the biggest Broadway star of the last 50 years. As she walked across the stage she forced a smile and waved to her family. The only thing she could think of at the time was dancing.
This short narrative discusses a future in education where artificial-intelligence and personalized learning could be utilized to predict and/or mandate career outcomes or “optimal occupations”. This is a future that focuses on efficiency as opposed to self-will and creativity. I purposely left the ending of the narrative open to the reader’s imaginations as to how Jane’s story would conclude. Is this a future that is ideal for us as a society? What are your thoughts?
Abe! That text-to-voice reader is awful, but I suppose that was the point, right? I’ve read about staff having to choose whether or not they allow themselves to be microchipped (and so also therefore, whether they ‘get’ to keep their jobs). It’s a creepy thought and, in my opinion, a slippery slope. Because of COVID, I can already see the rise in invasive testing techniques and policies becoming the norm. (For example, we’ve had professors use Honorlock and require students to use a 360 view to show the room in which they’re completing their exams to ensure they are alone and that they only have one computer running during the exam). At some point, I hope we’re able to reevaluate our assessment methods rather than trying to use old testing methods that do very little other than test students’ ability to memorize facts and dates. (I digress).
Your second narrative is heartbreaking. I believe there are already similar systems in play around the world. You aren’t necessarily forced into one program or another, but if you score lower in one area over another, you are not permitted to enter specific programs that are beyond the level you’ve obtained. Talk about determining someone’s entire life by engaging in a process that’s comparable to the flip of a coin.
Thanks for presenting these frank speculative narratives. They are thought-provoking but also slightly terrifying. 😉
Tamara
I LOVE the idea of a microchip. It’s totally not farfetched at all given how the technology exists already. Imagine if it had GPS built in, so we won’t run the risk of losing students on field trips!
It’s weird. It’s cheating when I have somebody write a test for me, or if, when I’m writing alone in a room I sneak somebody in to help me out. But it’s never cheating when the guy at the top got there because his dad cheated somebody in business and got a big bonus that allowed him to send his son and daughter to private schools with private tutors. That’s success.
Oh, I’m also totally pro-microchip. I’m so sick of doctors not having my health background information, and then I wouldn’t have to search for my ID, VISA, passport and all the rest of my ID whenever I went somewhere.
But I’m actually for cameras on public streets, too. They have them in Prince Rupert. Unreal. Videoing the deer, I guess.