Bringing Knowledge Out of the Shadows
You’ve probably heard of dark matter. Hidden from view, it theoretically exerts a force powerful enough to keep the entire universe from flying apart. But you might not have heard of another unseen yet even more powerful force, present in every corner of the world. A latent force that we, as KM’ers, need to nurture and grow, especially if we’re to keep pace with the rapid growth of AI. Welcome to the wild, wonderful world of … dark talent.
We’re not talking about dark knowledge. That’s a totally different subject. By dark talent, we mean latent talents, skills, and abilities, particularly in developing countries. Rehan Allahwala, founder of a growing international network of AI schools, sees this as an untapped resource in countries such as his native Pakistan. He lovingly, almost poetically, describes it on his LinkedIn page as “the people who were never told they matter,” referring to it as “hands, eyes, silence, and unused brilliance. Dark, because no one ever shined the light on it. The child who learns faster than the teacher, but drops out because hunger arrives before homework. Or the girl who understands systems, patterns, and people, but she’s not allowed to venture beyond her parents’ doorstep, and later, her husband’s.” You get the idea.
Untapped Human Capital
Competitions such as spelling and geography bees have always been opportunities for bringing hidden talent to the forefront. They can identify potentially world-changing reservoirs of untapped human capital. One example is the International Mathematical Olympiad (imo-official.org). High school students from over a hundred countries compete to solve highly challenging problems in algebra, combinatorics, geometry, and number theory. Winners come from countries all across the economic spectrum, including some of the world’s poorest, such as recent gold medalists from Vietnam, Peru, and Bangladesh. Unfortunately, compared to high-income countries, those on the lower end of the economic ladder do not benefit even when their students come out on top. This is due in large part to unequal access to resources and networks, including getting their winners’ contributions published.
This disparity has serious economic implications. One IMF study (imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/03/embracing-the-gift-of-global-talent-agarwal) estimates that global scientific output could increase by up to 42% if talented youth worldwide had equal opportunities to develop their potential. Similar research by the World Bank Human Capital Project (worldbank.org/en/publication/human-capital), developers of the Human Capital Index (HCI), confirms what we in the KM community have suspected all along: The main cause of income disparity among nations isn’t due to differences in natural resources, geography, or even physical capital. Rather, two-thirds of the income gap between developed and developing countries can be attributed to disparities in human capital.
The dollar amounts are massively transformational. On a 0–100 scale, a country that improves its HCI score by only 15 points could see its GDP per worker rise by 15%. On a global scale, this potentially translates to an increase of over $10–$20 trillion. This is all the more reason to quickly tap into this treasure trove of human capacity, especially given the current AI wave.