For hundreds of years, we have relied on tuition and training, apprenticeships, internships, mentoring, and coaching to impart new skills to young people, and to develop those skills to expert levels. But that’s all changed.

First to succumb was knowledge. As the advanced AI tools of the 2020s matured and got integrated into every device and platform, it became the norm to skip college and go straight to AI ‘agent wrangling’ – what some early adopters called ‘prompt engineering’. And if you needed an advanced course on that, there were plenty of YouTube videos and X streams to get you up to speed. In fact, with only basic skills you can get the bots themselves to design you a personalized course on anything you choose.

But who wants to learn knowledge when the smart assistants have all the answers already? Skills though, are a different kettle of fish, and not as easily acquired.

Soon however, the non-invasive versions of neuralink and cognotether were developed – again with the help of AI – and you could ‘sync’ your brain with your preferred chatbot, for mental communication on any topic. Still knowledge though, not skills.

Then some mad scientist came up with the idea of a drug-induced semi coma to put one into an auto-hypnotic state, while the AI fed you high-speed demo videos and programmed your motor response neurons, to teach you skills while you ‘slept’. And hey presto! You wake up in the morning and you can play golf or speak Spanish or whatever.

The military and intelligence services were first to put this into practice, for ‘training’ fighter pilots and espionage operatives. The ability to impart instant talent to deserving candidates was too good to pass up, which led to a government clampdown on the technology – for security reasons.

Now that regulation has been eased, but with strict limitations on content and applications, you can register for new skills, and get certified overnight. More advanced skills, like specialist surgery, take a bit longer, maybe a few weeks. But beware of side effects.

Some subjects have reported schizophrenia and personality disorders. If you wake up playing the guitar like a rock star, you might wonder which one is the real you!

Contact us for more

Futureworld helps global clients imagine the future and design game-changing growth strategies that capitalize on that future. For more information on this possibly fantastic scenario, feel free to contact the author Doug Vining or emerging education expert Matt Lawlor.