I watched a video about why we should teach our children to change a tyre.
And wondered whether they’ll ever need to.
Self-driving cars, AI assistants and humanoid robots promise to take care of life’s tedious bits. One day, a puncture might be something the car deals with while you argue with your playlist.
Lovely. I’m all for progress.
But perhaps changing a tyre was never just about changing a tyre.
It was about looking at something that had gone wrong, working out what to do and discovering you could do it. Even if your first attempt involved a few choice words.
We keep asking which skills our children will need in an AI world. Coding? Prompting? Robotics? Maybe. But technology will change faster than any syllabus.
I’d rather they learn to be curious, question an answer that sounds suspiciously confident, try things, make mistakes and know when to ask for help. Including when a roadside repair is best left to someone else.
There’s an awkward thought here for advertising too.
We’ve spent decades selling convenience. Less effort. Fewer decisions. Everything done for you. We’ve made not having to think sound like the ultimate luxury.
And sometimes it is. Nobody wants to spend Sunday afternoon wrestling with a washing machine.
But if every brand promises effortless living, what makes one worth caring about?
Maybe the more interesting brands won’t simply do everything for us. They’ll help us feel more capable. A car brand that teaches you what to do when technology fails. A bank that helps you spot a scam, rather than just promising cleverer security.
Useful, not just convenient.
So yes, I might still teach my child how to change a tyre.
Not because I expect them to become a mechanic. But because I don’t want their first response to every problem to be looking for a button.