Last month I wrote about how Fast Company was celebrating its 20th anniversary. In the special edition, the editor Robert Safian wrote his 20 predictions for the future. You can read all of them here, but I wanted to focus on just a few that I think are important to consider as we move closer to the year 2020.
Technology will improve the human condition. Well, it should little surprise that a magazine that focuses so much on technology would list this. And on the whole, they are right…throughout history progress has prevailed and even in dark moments, technology has aided humans. But it is also worth noting that in certain moments, the Plague of the 1300s for instance or the coming of the Mongols in the 1200s, technology was of no avail for long, long periods of time. I don’t think we need to fear Skynet necessarily, but there is a dark lining….especially when one considers how current technology is changing the human condition, and not necessarily for the better.
Democracy will be digital. If you’ve read here much, you know I detest Democracy. I stand with the Founders of the USA and support our Republic, a very different animal than a Democracy (and yes, we’d all be better off if we knew the difference and grasped the value of the one over the other). James Madison is still right when he wrote “democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property….” However, with the fact of the first issue I mentioned, technology is here to stay and for the first time in our national history, we actually could produce a real Democracy if we wished. The government could issue phones, or at least push an app that everyone could have (or have to have?) where we’d vote on everything. I don’t think I want to live there still, though I am sure the technology enthusiast would be thrilled.
Diversity will deepen & We will all be family These are actually two different predictions, but as I read them, I see one key point. The world is so much smaller today, and whether you like it or not, there will be ever more interaction between people of different races and cultures. This could really take us much closer to a one-planet worldview that truly does move us post-nationalism. As a child raised in the Old South, but by liberal minded parents who encouraged my many friends of color, I urge you to look past your own skin color and background. That does not mean abandon or ignore….people of like affinity will still congregate. We will still go to the mall and typically see young people of the same type hanging out. Still, as Safian writes, “we will have less license to ignore the troubles (and challenges) in other parts of the globe”….and I would tweak that to suggest you can’t ignore the troubles and challenge in other parts of your city.
Cash will disappear Again, if you’ve read here long, you know I do NOT find this a good idea. I wrote about this as far back as 2005 when Wired Magazine first suggested it. In 2010 I warned that the biggest issue with this was nothing religious (though there is that), but that more and more people would fail to have any financial literacy. Six years later, the evidence is clear that most people spend money, when there is no actual money, carelessly. As I said in 2010, “when you consider the fact that in 2008, over $20 Billion was paid in overdraft protection and subsequent fees, one wonders if cashless is such a good idea.”
Human Empathy will be central I will end by saying “I pray so.” Evidence now is to the contrary, but that is because of the time now, being on the cusp of the Great Crisis, standing on the edge of the ever deepening philosophical divide. Historically, as cultures arrived at this point, their neighbors and other citizens ceased to be someone they knew, but “those people.” The “other side” was know seen as some evil force to be opposed. In the midst of great social distress, holding onto some human empathy is critical. We shall see how we do. Prayerfully, Fast Company will be right.