I recently spoke with a very successful Silicon Valley business owner about the future of the next generation. He had been having similar conversations with other wealthy entrepreneurs, and their responses were remarkably consistent: they planned to make enough money so that their children would never have to work.

This conversation made me think about what it would mean to prepare my kids for the future. My greatest fear is that they grow up without the resourcefulness, judgment, and social skills to build meaningful lives when technology and wealth remove much of life’s friction.

If AI reshapes work as dramatically as many expect, we need to teach the next generation how to think critically, solve unfamiliar problems, lead, negotiate and recover from failure. They must also learn how to read a room, resolve conflict, earn trust and form meaningful relationships. In a world of technological abundance, human capability may become one of our scarcest resources.

We can already see this shift in the changing value of knowledge. For much of modern history, education has given people access to information that was difficult to obtain. Years of study led to expertise, and expertise created economic value. AI is beginning to change that relationship. A student can now receive an explanation of almost any concept within seconds. A professional can generate an analysis, draft a proposal or summarize hundreds of pages before the first cup of coffee. When answers are everywhere, knowing the answer becomes less valuable than knowing what to do with it.

Knowledge, however, is only part of what technology is changing. As more of life moves behind screens, genuine connection may also become increasingly scarce. The World Health Organization estimates that one in six people globally experience loneliness, with the highest rates reported among young people. Loneliness and isolation are also associated with poorer mental and physical health. Relationships provide a sense of belonging, support us through difficult periods, and give meaning to what we accomplish. They also require effort. We have to listen, compromise, repair misunderstandings and show up for others when it is inconvenient. Through these experiences, we learn how to live alongside people whose needs and perspectives differ from our own.

These abilities cannot be developed in theory. Preparing the next generation means giving them room to participate in the world for themselves. They need to follow through on commitments, navigate tension within a group and make decisions without having every answer. When something goes wrong, they need the opportunity to sit with the problem before someone else resolves it for them. Families with significant resources can remove many obstacles from the path ahead. The challenge will be knowing which ones to leave in place.

This is where the conversation becomes especially relevant to wealth management. Our industry has spent decades helping families preserve capital and transfer it efficiently. We devote considerable attention to what the next generation will receive. There is often less attention given to who they are becoming before they receive it. No one knows how far AI will advance, which careers will disappear or whether we are moving toward a future where earning a living no longer depends on having a traditional job. We can be more certain that the next generation will still need relationships, a sense of contribution and a reason to participate in the world around them. Work has traditionally provided much of that direction. If it becomes optional, finding purpose may become one of the defining challenges of the future.

Money may give them freedom from work, but it cannot tell them what is worth working toward. The greatest inheritance may be the ability to answer that question for themselves.

 Alysha Tse, TEP, FEA, CFP, CLU, CHS, CIM, MTI, MFA-P 

Wealth Advisor & Portfolio Manager, Chernick James Tse & Associates Wealth Counsel, Richardson Wealth

Richardson Wealth Limited is a subsidiary of iA Financial Corporation Inc. and is not affiliated with James Richardson & Sons, Limited. Richardson Wealth is a trademark of James Richardson & Sons, Limited and Richardson Wealth Limited is a licensed user of the mark. Richardson Wealth Limited, Member Canadian Investor Protection Fund.