Have we lost our innovation edge and does it matter?

The need to innovate has rarely been greater than it is now. Way back in 2015 a McKinsey report stated that 45% of the work being done by humans could be automated using existing technologies. We know that technology has advanced over the past four years, and we continually are reminded that we are in the 4th Industrial Revolution.

As Brian Krzanich of Intel pointed out in 2015 the processing power of the microchip as improved at almost incomprehensible rates. As he noted, if the 1971 Volkswagen Beetle had improved at the same rate as microchips under Moore’s law, then in 2015 the Beetle could go 300,000 m.p.h. with a fuel efficiency of 2 million miles per gallon and it would cost 4 cents.

So as 2015 has faded from our memory like the 2015 summer hit “Cake by the Ocean” we have to ask ourselves what has been the impact of all of this is? It appears that we still don’t know, but we are very anxious and it is quite clear that change is occurring with little consensus on its final impact on society.

Many people suggest that the robot apocalypse is near and the best we can do is hope for a benevolent overlord. Another contingency of experts suggest that humans will work hand in hand with robots, think robot-assisted surgical procedure more than your Roomba vacuuming the house while you clean the fridge.

Our take is that it does not matter much which view you think is accurate. We agree with Arnold Toynbee that civilizations, like individuals thrive when they answer challenges with creative response, and we are most anxious that schools in the U.S. are not developing enough people capable of a creative response.

Although the U.S. should be at the top of all Innovation Indicators, in 2018 we fell out of the top 10 in the Bloomberg Innovation Index for the first time (we bounced back to #8 in 2019).

We also know the innovation is not evenly distributed in society. According to Bell, Chetty, Jaravel, Petkova, and Reenen innovation in the U.S. could quadruple if women, minorities and children from low-income families became inventors at the same rate as men from high income families (2017) with income and gender being better predictors of innovation than academic indicators.

In short we need to educate creators but we are falling behind. We feel that this has significant implications for our country and that’s why we have created the innovation diploma for our students. This is a special credential our students can earn that certifies that they are ready to answer our world’s biggest challenges with creative responses. We are in the process of rolling out the details and hope that you too agree with the need to develop more innovators.

Check back throughout the coming year to learn more about this project and hear more about the good stuff on “The Secret Menu”