Protecting Older Workers

A few of us were talking this week about AI—Artificial Intelligence. Lately, there's been a great deal of conversation about it in the media—both social and traditional. And, if you ask me, for good reason.

I’m a freelance writer, so the topic particularly hits home for me. After all, what's to prevent a potential client from foregoing my professional services in lieu of using AI to “write” what they need?

Another hot topic this week has been POWADA—the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act—which has been proposed in Congress to strengthen the current laws that are supposed to protect older workers from being discriminated against by employers. A survey conducted by AARP in 2018 revealed that as many as 60% of Adults 45+ reported
they had experienced or observed age discrimination in the workplace. If you
haven't already, please contact your Congressional delegates to ask them to
support this bill (you can find their names and contact information by Googling "Who Represents Me In Congress").

Oddly enough, I believe these two topics share some commonalities—bear with me while I try to connect the dots:

Having played around with AI recently, I found it to be a remarkable tool for generating information. You plug in your search criteria, and maybe five seconds later, it spits out an answer—in fact, the speed with which it operates is perhaps the most remarkable thing about it.

That said, it is absolutely literal. If you ask for AN idea, that is precisely what you'll get--ONE idea. If you want more than one, you must ask for the exact number you want. There is no nuance. No reading between the lines. No going above and beyond or looking at things from different perspectives. So while the output you get may be helpful—and even good—it seems to me to be missing one important component: human experience.

Which brings me to the need for POWADA and the value of the older workers it aims to protect. To me, a workplace devoid of older workers is depriving itself of the human experience that comes from making mistakes and learning from them, using historical knowledge to think through current challenges, and offering perspectives that can only be gleaned from years of doing the work.

Research shows that a more diverse workplace is more creative, more innovative, and more productive and profitable. And, HELLO, a more diverse workforce is not just characterized by a variety of races, ethnicities, genders, or nationalities. It is also characterized by a variety of ages—including OLDER ADULTS.

So as our interest is piqued by the shiniest new toy in the tech toolbox, let us not be blinded by its novelty, ease of use, or efficiency. Let us continue to value the benefits we can only derive from the human experience—benefits that (at least for now) cannot begin to be replicated by a robot.