I had one of those “well, that changes things” moments at work recently. My new AI executive assistant connected to a server using the SSH access already set up on my computer, configured Let’s Encrypt to add SSL to the Moodle site we run at NEKLS, and tested it. The whole process happened in the time it took me to go to the bathroom. I came back, and it was done.
My first thought was that my server wrangling skills were about to disappear. Those skills took time to develop! There was troubleshooting involved. There were errors, searches, and the eventual satisfaction of getting something to work. Now I could hand a basic server task to an agent and step away for a few minutes. Convenient? Absolutely. A little unsettling? Also yes.
Then I thought about the idea commonly attributed to Alvin Toffler: technological literacy requires us to learn, unlearn, and relearn. The familiar quotation is actually a paraphrase combining Toffler’s discussion in Future Shock with words he quoted from psychologist Herbert Gerjuoy. But the underlying idea fits this moment pretty well. (Attribution background)
I’ve spent years learning how to do things with technology. Apparently, I also need to get comfortable unlearning some assumptions about which parts I need to do myself.
My server knowledge still matters. It helps me understand what I’m asking for, judge whether the result makes sense, and recognize when something needs a closer look. I can delegate the commands while still being responsible for what happens to the server. But I may get rusty at some of those commands. I don’t think I can honestly celebrate the convenience and pretend that possibility doesn’t exist.
The question for me is how much of my time should go toward maintaining the mechanics of a task that an agent can now handle, and what I should learn with the time that frees up. I suspect getting comfortable with that question is part of basic technological literacy now. I’d just expected to have a little longer to think about it than a bathroom break.