Marc Prensky

Re-Framing the Future of Work

The way we will fulfill these needs of realizing dreams, fixing problems, and helping others in the future, says Prensky, is through becoming symbiotic with our new technologies. For humans to solve all our pressing problems like climate change our key challenge in the 21st century, says Prensky, is to become symbiotic with our new technologies as rapidly as possible. Although this is true for people of all ages, the young are starting faster. in our new age of empowerment, individuals are finally getting the means to control their world, starting at early ages. They need to know not just how to take control of their personal, local and global worlds, but how to improve them.

The Future of Work, says Prensky, will not be “jobs” that people get and hold as they do today, but “projects” — that teams of people accomplish. Already more and more firms and entire fields are moving to this “project” rather than job orientation. Says one Fortune 500 executive: “We don’t do job descriptions anymore — we do project descriptions.” What this means is that one now requires a specialty that can enhance many different organizations — rather than climbing a hierarchical ladder of job promotions in any single one. Everyone needs to understand and prepare for this new version of work, says Prensky. Marc shows us why it’s so important and how to get there quickly.

Key takeaways include:

• Why and how work will be changing (and is already)
• What the new models of work mean for you and your children
• Why empowering people is key we to the future of work
• How to be successful in the new environment

Re-Framing Creativity, “The Metaverse” and “The Cloud” at Work

In this highly forward-thinking talk, Marc Prensky re-frames the worlds of creativity and imagination for a New Age.

People often think, says Prensky, that they have only one world to live and work in, i.e., the one in which they are physically situated. But there is also, Prensky reminds us, the world of imagination in each of our heads whence all creativity springs. And now, in the 21st century, says Prensky, we have a new, third world: “The Cloud.”

Whereas before people could realize their imaginations only in the real world which is often hard and causes many to give up The Cloud is a brand-new world in which to bring forth human imagination. Infinitely huge, with many dimensions, the Cloud is growing far faster than the physical world. It offers a new frontier in which to be creative, and many creative opportunities. The currently-highly-hyped , on the other hand, refers typically to only the visual dimension of the Cloud, i.e., the part that, through a headset or special glasses, looks like a real world. That is only a small subset of the Cloud. And unlike The Cloud, which is quickly developing, the Metaverse is far slower to emerge, and is still in its earliest stages.

Creativity in all of these worlds, says Prensky, is highly linked to beliefs. Today, beliefs around the world are changing, radically and rapidly, between generations. This belief change is about to have a huge impact on humanity, because our beliefs — embedded deep within our minds — determine all our actions. Prensky shows how beliefs are changing generationally regarding education, technology, privacy, property, personal relationships, sexuality, race, security, power, kids, work and jobs, empathy, violence, religion, justice and injustice, money, love, government, time and space, and creativity as well. The most important creative 21st century beliefs, says Prensky, are “I can” and “we can.”

In this highly engaging talk, Prensky shows both why the “belief re-framing” is key, and how to re-examine, and go beyond our old 20th century beliefs so that we don’t hold humanity back on its journey to the future. Marc Prensky highlights the creative opportunities of today — which are enormous — and opens peoples eyes to what is coming far faster than many think.

Key takeaways include:

• How to be creative in the 21st century
• What is currently happening in “The Cloud”
• What “The Cloud” means for you and your business
• What to expect — and not to — from the Metaverse, and when
• 20th century vs. 21st century beliefs
• Why beliefs are key to 21st century accomplishment and change.

Re-Framing Diversity and Trust at Work

It is time to re-frame both “diversity” and “trust” in the workplace, says Marc Prensky.

Most of us say that we support diversity, and most of us think we are both trusting and trustworthy. The reality, however is that most of our workplaces are far less diverse than many might like, and sorely lacking in trust. In this eye-opening talk, Prensky helps audiences see diversity and trust in new ways.

“What makes us each unique,” says Prensky, “are the individual projects we each choose to do and be part of.” Prensky shows how when we are each working on things we actually care deeply about, diversity and trust become not only easier, but desirable and necessary. Prensky helps us see how the right kind of diversity and trusting each other leads to far greater outcomes and satisfaction. He poses difficult questions, like: “If a team had members of every race, religion, gender, and nationality, and yet they all though similarly about the problem at hand — how much diversity would there be?” and “What happens when someone you trust lets you down?”

In this unusual keynote, Marc brings his famous “re-framing lens” to the thorny issues of diversity and trust, showing audiences how to see those issues from a new and different perspective.

Key takeaways include:

• How to create situations where people NEED and DEMAND diversity and trust?
• How do we promote diversity of THINKING — and use that to our advantage?
• How can we measure diversity of thought?
• How can we build higher performance through trust, diversity of thinking and projects?
• Can trust in workplaces be increased? How can we do it?

Re-Framing Young People and Generational Change at Work — Unleashing the Power of Two Billion Kids

As we change over from the world’s “Last Pre-Internet Generation” — raised almost entirely in the 20th century — to the “First Internet Generation,” raised entirely in the 21st, we need to see our young people through different, and more up-to-date lenses. Today we are already far beyond the terms “digital natives” and “digital immigrants” that Marc Prensky coined only two decades ago. We live in a time of massive generational change in attitudes and beliefs regarding areas such as education technology, privacy, property, personal relationships, security, sexuality, power, kids, violence, God, justice, money, love, government, creativity, and even time and space. The most important new generational beliefs, says Prensky are “I CAN” and “WE CAN.”

The consequences of these changes in beliefs and capabilities, as Prensky shows through multiple examples, are profound.

Key takeaways include:

• How beliefs differ between generations.
• What this implies for adults and for young people
• What are the best actions for us to take?

Re-Framing Community in the New Age of Empowerment

People thrive in communities, but communities are changing, says Marc Prensky. An under-noticed and under- appreciated trend in the NEW AGE OF EMPOWERMENT we are entering, says Prensky, is that the meaning of “community” is shifting radically and importantly.

Prior to the Internet, communities were almost all local, based on where you lived. You went to school, typically through high school, where you lived, you lived, typically, near where you worked — mostly small and local. If your local community included few people like you, you were pretty isolated. Some larger communities did exist, but they typically took much work and much coordination to set up and maintain and often join.

All that is now changing. We live in a world where, In the words of one professor, “Every person can find on the Internet the worldwide group in which they are in the top10 percent.” What has quickly begun to emerge are “affinity” or “shared interest” communities, that are NOT local or location-based. Almost all communities are or have the potential to be fully or partially global. While some are now partly local, other communities exist only in the cloud, and come together physically only periodically. It is also harder, in our new world, to put “gates” around a community and keep others out. We are just starting to learn how to manage and participate in these new types of communities. Their implications are profound, and the surface has hardly been scratched.

In this unique keynote, Marc Prensky explores the new definition of community, showing categories, examples and re-framing the new possibilities for communities that this brings to people and the world.

Key takeaways include:

• What differentiates virtual, global, communities from local, physical communities?
• What are the advantages of each? Can they be combined effectively?
• What kinds of communities can go global? Which should? Are there any that can’t or shouldn’t?
• What this implies for communities at work and of adults and of young people

Re-framing Artificial Intelligence and People at Work

In this profound talk, Marc Prensky re-frames human thinking and intelligence for the future. Many believe that as technology develops, we remain “the same people” — just with more powerful tools. However, in this enlightening and controversial keynote Prensky re-frames this thinking to seeing humans as becoming with all the powerful new technologies we have created.

The idea of technology symbiosis was first proposed in the 1970s, and Marc wrote about it previously in his book Brain Gain. Marc believes our technologies have effectively given humans new, helpful, brain and body parts — much like our having grown a new, useful tail and we must learn to use these new body parts wisely and well. The “new symbiosis” with technology IS NOT “addiction,” says Prensky. Rather it is the process of getting to know what we can do that is positive with our new capabilities. Figuring this out, says Prensky, is probably our most pressing 21st century task as humans because it will help us solve all our other problems.

Key takeaways include:

• Why we require a better way to look at humans and technology.
• What being a “symbiotic empowered hybrid” means.
• Why that is positive for all of us.