Actual job: give a shit
I remember being driven to elementary school as a kid. It wasn't far - maybe a 10-minute walk.
Just before we turned into the school, there was a crossing guard. Even though there were traffic lights managing the cars - even though kids could functionally walk to school on their own - there was still a human guard carrying a stop sign. Someone who knew the kids and parents. Someone who showed up day in and day out, making sure kids safely navigated to school.
As a child, I actually scoffed at this. Isn't that redundant? The crossing guard is carrying a stop sign even though the light is already doing the job.
My dad said: "Maybe you'll understand when you're older."
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As an adult, of course, he was right.
Who among us doesn't see the absolute incredible value of having a trusted steward with small children?
The job on paper is to carry the stop sign. But the literal value isn't in carrying the stop sign. The value is in having someone with feet on the ground, eyes and ears, interacting with kids and adults WITH kids, making sure everyone gets in safely.
* * *
This post isn't going anywhere specific.
There's a lot of anxiety about AI taking over jobs. About what all of our collective futures might look like for work. That's scary. That's the unknown.
But maybe - just like our crossing guards - we're thinking a bit too literally.
Maybe the reason we have the job on paper is not the actual reason we're employed.
Maybe the functions can be fully delegated, but the human touch truly can't be.
Maybe we don't need to be that anxious about the future.
Thinking About What Can't Be Automated?
Sometimes the most valuable work is the hardest to describe on paper.
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