Frame201903-04

You think that education ought to distin-
guish between knowledge and intelligence?
SIMONE SPELT: From a very young age,
intelligence is measured by the amount of
knowledge an individual has. Test results
are based on a system that’s focused on one
way of learning which fits mainly one type
of person. But people who know a lot aren’t
necessarily intelligent, and people who know
very little aren’t necessarily unintelligent.
Knowledge on its own is unproductive, but
combined with creativity it can be a key to
new concepts, theories and solutions.

What are you proposing that can change
this? NICK BEENS: The Educational Injec-
tion Device. At birth, a chip is injected into
our bodies; it downloads information and
works seamlessly with our biological brains.
Because an infant can’t handle the knowledge
of a 20-year-old, the chip slowly unlocks
more knowledge, always taking into account
the child’s mental capacity and emotional
level, as well as current social standards.

How will this change the education system?
SS: As acquiring knowledge won’t demand
an individual’s time, education could focus
on personal talents, interests and skills. This
will be necessary in a future where artificial
intelligence will dominate our working
lives and where we will need to distinguish
ourselves from AI. We will have to be crea-

Injected at birth, a chip administered by

the Educational Injection Device would feed

the brain with knowledge, allowing further

education to focus on the development of

social and human skills.

The desire to explore areas

outside the traditional field of

product design prompted us to

invite JASPER LUIJTEN, SIMONE

SPELT and NICK BEENS – DAE

graduates and founders of the

Future More Collective – to

contribute to ‘The Challenge’.

tive to stay ahead of the AI we invented, we

will require an understanding of psychology

to live peacefully in a faster and faster world,

and we must master social behaviour rather

than taking the easy way out by disappear-

ing into an online maze. The future can be

bright, but we have to be bright too.

How will children be taught these skills?

JASPER LUIJTEN: To master social and

human skills, you need the real thing: the pres-

ence of people. We believe this is possible only

if school occurs in a physical space and classes

include multiple children. Without being

forced to learn facts, children are sure to focus

more on their inner selves. They would learn

who they are and what they want to do in this

world. Hopefully, the outcome will be a new

kind of human with optimal skills.

Who would decide what knowledge is on

the chip? SS: This is a very tricky question.

The designer’s role, in our opinion, is to

show a bright future, which is why we’re

proposing an idealistic scenario. Companies

or corporations shouldn’t determine what

goes on the chip, because they can have very

one-sided intentions. It would be better to

have an international organization – with no

special regard for national interests – make

such decisions. That way, knowledge would

be the same everywhere. – WG

futuremore.studio

FUTURE OF LEARNING

Nº 5

In the

Know

Future More Collective dreams

up a KNOWLEDGE CHIP

that helps humans stay ahead

of artificial intelligence.

42 THE CHALLENGE