Peter Cochrane: Where are the generalists we need today?

We need more generalists with a broad multi-disciplinary education and experience, but education is heading in the opposite direction

Prior to the Reformation there was no real distinction between the arts, sciences and engineering, and it was possible to be an expert botanist, artist, anatomist, physicist, chemist and engineer at the same time. Leonardo Da Vinci is perhaps the most famous example.

The later formalisation into specific disciplines came with the scientific method and an accelerating knowledge base that saw individuals progressively overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data. Ironically, the narrowing specialisms created a further acceleration of knowledge and capability that transformed societies.

Today we stand at the cusp of a new revolution: Industry 4.0, powered by AI, IoT, synthetic materials, robotics and additive manufacturing. Coupled with a deeper understanding of Mother Nature, we have the basis for progressively sustainable futures.

Realising sustainability will demand more generalists with a broad multi-disciplinary education and experience. But, in direct opposition, the education system, has become narrower and narrower, driven by a focus on immediate industrial and societal demands.

I now meet with experts that are 1 metre wide and 2 km deep

Not surprisingly, ‘educated people' now tend to have a ‘soda-straw' view of the world! I now meet with experts that are 1 metre wide and 2 km deep. And whilst it is undeniable that specialisation has accelerated human abilities, it has also created all-too-visible chasms of ignorance dividing the professions.

Today, it is not uncommon to find wireless engineers with a good knowledge of coding and protocols, but with little appreciation of antennas and propagation. This narrowing of expertise is routinely overcome by the formation of teams that aggregate the needed specialisms. Unfortunately, this approach tends to fail, or at best is rather brittle, when projects are spread across dozens of different technologies and skill sets.

No surprise, then, that we have few managers and even fewer politicians, capable of understanding the intricacies and complexities of modern industry and technology-driven situations, and even less ability to manage change or respond to crises. Look no further than Covid-19 and the distributed political shambles across the planet despite the consultations with highly educated experts and clear instructions and guidance for the general population!

The demands on academia by government and industry to do more with less, and faster, to create ‘ready-to-go' graduates with the skills to meet immediate needs has also promoted an ever-narrowing curriculum. A dangerous result is the blurring between education and training.

Sometimes students ask me the question, "What has all this got to do with my job?" Of course, the answer is that universities are about education and training courses are about specific short-term technologies and skills. This varies by country, history, tradition, and the values of a given society, but it spans learning by rote, with very little deviation from established wisdoms, through to ‘self-discovery' with little depth of understanding. Perhaps the most extreme case of blurring would be the Fast Food Co University, where students can become an expert in beef burgers and sparkling drinks in a matter of weeks. This does not constitute an education, but it's an experience, and may be good training!

Changing an established system born of government and industry over decades I see as almost impossible, and it looks to be far easier to create something new. In my view, a new class of education and university degree is required to address the general field of systems and complexity from a scientific stance to aid the realisation of sustainable societies.

Perversely, such a direction might project us back to a pre-Reformation mode of ‘master and apprentice', but this time, augmented by AI. Curiously, this might actually be happening already with freely available materials online and experts delivering classes, lectures and tutorials to thousands of people at the same time. Why is this so important? It could also address a second challenge - the student in-feed to universes! Mathematics, science, engineering and technology et al. are so badly taught, and high-school qualifications are now so very inadequate, this might just be the mechanism to raise the bar!

Peter Cochrane is professor of sentient systems at the University of Suffolk, UK