Serendipity35

After retirement, some older workers are turning to gig work to keep busy and sharp, as a lifeline, or as a last resort. So reports Rest of World who spoke to 50 older workers worldwide.

Most gig workers globally are relatively young: Research published in 2021 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency focused on improving working conditions, puts the average age for delivery workers at 29 and the average age for ride-hailing drivers at 36. But older individuals are turning to gig work, and their numbers are expected to grow in the coming years.

For example, a man in São Paulo drives people at least 12 hours a day, and at 62, he doesn’t see himself stopping anytime soon. He makes roughly 4000 reais ($790) per month after paying off all expenses; it is now his household’s only income. In a country where the monthly minimum wage is 1,412 reais ($273), it’s a good income.

I wrote about gig work and "unretirement" on this blog five years ago, and started writing about it 9 years ago on another blog when I decided to do it myself.

The global population of people 65 or older is expected to double by 2050, surpassing 1.6 billion, according to the U.N. At the same time, family units worldwide are transforming, often requiring older people to support themselves for longer. Not all gig workers do it full-time, and for many people (especially younger workers) it supplements other work.

In America, things are different but the trend is still evident. Over the last two decades, the share of the workforce aged 55 or older almost doubled and the government is looking at labor trends like this. By 2028, over a quarter of the workforce will be 55 or older. Inflation has been a factor in forcing retirees back to work. 43 percent of those considering returning to work are doing so because of inflation. One report identifies that older Americans are increasingly turning to the gig economy to supplement their incomes and savings due to its flexibility. Nearly 1 in 3 independent or “gig” workers are over age 55.

You may feel like there is too much about artificial intelligence all around you. It's in the news, conversations and, in education and industry, it is in the tools we use. It has also dominated this blog in the past year. Too much so, I'm beginning to think.

I know that AI is a big topic currently and it can't be ignored. But it is just one of many topics this blog has addressed since 2006. I will make a more conscious effort this summer to address some non-AI issues, acknowledging that it seems to permeate almost every other category.

You can find numerous articles online about how artificial intelligence (AI) tools and activities can create the "AI-augmented professor." I have seen fewer opinions on how non-teaching staff members who support the learning process at most universities will be affected.

Certainly, AI augmentation will also affect those who support faculty and students, such as instructional designers, researchers, administrators, and other nonteaching professionals.

I read a piece on insidehighered.com about this group and keyed in on instructional designers since that was my area. The article uses an awkward term - BYOAI Bring Your Own AI - for his group because of the hybrid nature of home and office work for this group. Of  course, many faculty are also hybrid now, teaching in a campus classroom as well as from their home or office online.

Instructional designers are already using generative AI tools to create graphics, images and audio segments for classes. New tools, such as OpenAI’s Sora can generate full-motion videos from prompts. Chatbots can write or revise content. It can produce a rough draft syllabus for a new course.

This is also something that should concern those people coming into higher ed (and secondary education too, though perhaps to a lesser degree currently). Citing a survey by Microsoft and LinkedIn, ZDNet reported that “AI skills are so much of a priority that the report suggests 66 percent of business leaders wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills, and 71 percent of leaders would prefer to hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without them.”

If you ask a question in the ChatGPT free version 3.5 about a film or event that happened in the past year, you may not get a very good answer, or perhaps no answer at all. Version 3.5 was last updated with data in January 2022. To get version 4, you need to pay for the Plus level at $20 per month ($25 for the Team version).

* NOTE There has been an upgrade for free ChatGPT users: OpenAI is opening up many of the features previously reserved for paying customers. This includes access to image and document analysis, data analytics and custom GPT chatbots.

Recently, I asked 3.5  "What films released in 2024 are possible Academy Award nominees?" The answer was generic:
"Predicting specific Academy Award nominees for a year as far out as 2024 is quite speculative since it depends on numerous factors such as the quality of the films, critical reception, box office success, and industry trends at the time of release. However, some potential contenders could include films from established directors or those with strong track records in awards season, as well as films that tackle socially relevant themes or feature standout performances. It's also worth considering that films released towards the end of the year tend to be fresher in the minds of voters during awards season. Without specific knowledge of films released in 2024, it's challenging to pinpoint exact nominees, but historical trends and industry buzz could provide some hints closer to the time."

What about Microsoft Copilot? This chatbot was developed by Microsoft and launched in February 2023. It is Microsoft's primary replacement for the discontinued Cortana. At first, it was called Bing Chat, as a built-in feature for Microsoft Bing and Microsoft Edge. However, they began to unify the Copilot branding across its various chatbot products. They planned to integrate Copilot into Windows so that you could use it directly through the taskbar.

Here is a sample prompt and response from Bing Chat last year (via Wikipedia)

I asked CoPilot today, "What was Carl Jung's concept of shadow self?" The answer was extensive (excerpted below)

"Certainly! Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, introduced the concept of the “shadow self.” Let’s delve into what this intriguing idea entails:

    Definition of the Shadow Self:
        The shadow refers to those aspects of ourselves that we reject or deny. These are the darker, less socially acceptable pieces of our personality that don’t align with the persona we present to the world.
        It encompasses traits, emotions, and characteristics that are often viewed as negative, such as anger, jealousy, and greed1.

    Origin and Nature:
        Jung believed that the shadow is an integral part of our psyche, residing in our unconscious mind...

    Encountering the Shadow:

        When encountering the shadow, we experience a range of emotions: fear, disgust, remorse, guilt, compassion, grief, and humility.
        The shadow has the power to possess and overwhelm us, even altering our behavior (“He is not himself today”)3.

In summary, the shadow self represents the hidden, often rejected parts of our personality. Embracing and integrating these aspects is essential for personal growth and individuation."