The more I think about it the more I am convinced that automation forces us to revisit, re-evaluate and rethink some of the fundamental “building blocks” of society. Think finance, business, work, energy, health and law. But this is not going to be easy. Take the example of work.
Broadly speaking, we can distinguish between two schools of thought, even among those who accept that automation will soon transform the workplace. The first group points to the emergence of mass poverty, wealth inequality and new forms of social exclusion as a result of automation depriving large sections of the workforce of employment opportunities. The second group takes a more positive view. They are convinced that we will find ways to deal with these issues. They believe that those groups that have traditionally performed routine work will be able to find alternatives.
But, in one important sense, it does not matter which group you belong to. There is no right answer. The crucial point is that the future is open and everyone is going to have to “think different” in the creation of a new automated world.
The use of a “think different” strategy to usher in a new era is not new. In late 1997, Apple adopted the slogan “think different” to relaunch the brand, go back to basics and focus on “what really matters”. Twenty years later, what strikes me is how relevant the slogan still is today. In fact, I believe the mantra of “think different” is even more important to society now than it was for Apple in 1997. Here’s why.
This technological revolution is different
We are on the brink of a new world centred around digitisation, automation and machine intelligence. I have written about this before, but I genuinely believe this technological revolution is different from previous technological revolutions of the last 250 years. The challenge of coming to terms with these differences requires us all to think different.
The complexity of technological change: Current technological innovations in the area of smart machines, sensors and big data, appear to be faster and more wide-ranging. The pace of digitisation and automation is accelerating. This makes perfect sense. The developments in the different automation technologies, such as machine learning, blockchain technology, internet of things and data analytics, are all accelerating each other.
Anyone who doubts the pace and complexity of change should follow one of the many websites that are now devoted to the daily chronicling of technological discoveries. My own current favourite is Futurism.
We are living through an era of the exponential growth of new technologies. Moreover, technological innovation now has a global character, in the sense that significant discoveries can happen almost anywhere. And – thanks to the internet – the dissemination of the latest innovation is also global and almost simultaneous.
This process of constant and unrelenting technological change will only get faster as more resources are devoted to developing even more technologies.
The key role of consumers in driving innovation: Previous technological revolutions were, broadly speaking, spearheaded and controlled by a combination of industry and national governments working together to deliver innovation to the market.
But this time, things seem to be different. Consumers play a much more central role in both driving technological change and determining its scope and impact. Consumers today are often among the first group to experiment with new innovations. Think of smartphones, drones, games. What is interesting is that whenever new innovations make life more convenient or meaningful for consumers, they are very quickly accepted by society as a whole.
This widespread consumer adoption of new innovations has a number of interesting side-effects.
- Access to finance becomes easier. Professional investors, such as venture capital funds and angels, naturally gravitate to technologies with mass consumer appeal. But, increasingly, innovators can turn to the public for funding, through crowdfunding or initial coin offerings. This then feeds the hype, which encourages even more professional investors to invest in what is perceived as the next big thing.
- The next-big-thing argument plays a key role in convincing large corporations to invest heavily in new automation and digitisation applications. Consumer success provides a powerful override to the in-built cautiousness of established corporations when dealing with innovation.
- Finally, governments see innovations with broad consumer appeal as a powerful means to boost economic growth or other public policy goals. For example, innovation can provide an opportunity for a government to solve demographic issues – think Japan – or as a means to project a youthful and dynamic image to the world – think Singapore.
The uncertain social effects of new technologies: The social effects and meaning of new technologies today are more dynamic and complex than with previous technological revolutions. We struggle to come to terms with how automation impacts on society. The process of automation often occurs unnoticed.
From a consumer-user point of view, the best – most convenient – technologies facilitate action, but quickly disappear into the background. This transparent quality makes any assessment of the social effects of new technologies difficult to assess.
What is also different about the digital revolution is that whereas the social effects of previous technologies unrolled over decades, the social effects of the automation efforts today occur over a much shorter time horizon and these social effects are geographically more dispersed and affect every aspect of social life.
The result? New technologies require us to “think different” about the most fundamental building blocks of society.
“Think different” as the mantra of a digital age
The urgency of responding to new automation technologies means that we do not have time to adopt a wait-and-see approach. We need to be proactive in determining how automation is affecting society. This requires us to set aside traditional ways of thinking and – by thinking different – find new ways of thinking that are more appropriate for the new realities of a digital age.
More and more of us believe that issues regarding bureaucracy, middle men, legacy systems, human error, corruption and fraud can be solved by automated technologies. Particularly, the combination of blockchain technologies, AI, robots and sensors offer a powerful and convenient alternative for business, consumers and government.
Here are just a few examples of the impact of automation technologies:
- Centralised banking systems and financial organisations are slowly but surely being replaced by peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding strategies.
- We see a growth in communities and smart grids taking ownership of renewable energy.
- There is a shift in how we think about ownership and organisations as a result of the technology-driven sharing economy.
- Life expectancy is gradually increasing, again as a result of technological revolution.
- The use of smart – automated code-based – contracts has the potential to transform legal transactions and enforcement.
- Trust is being automated by the use of prediction algorithms, sensors and blockchain technologies.
The new world of automation means we will have to rethink banking, tax, retirement and pension policies, as well as employment. It will also have a significant impact on our legal systems, which will have to be revisited in light of the sharing economy and blockchain. And the implications for energy and the environment are similarly far-reaching. We need to think different in order to create a better future together.
Think different education
So, what’s next? Where do we begin? Well, we need to start by giving everyone the necessary skills to think different.
I have written before about education and the importance of positioning myself as a co-creator, collaborator and influencer for the students, rather than the more traditional role of teacher. My experience of this new approach is promising.
By reflecting together on the digital age, we – both educators and students – gain a better understanding of the world that we are currently living in and will certainly live in tomorrow. “Think different” seems to be an appropriate and significant first step to introduce in all levels of education. It is a powerful way to think about the distinctiveness of a digital age.
Even more importantly, it can be used as a mantra to stimulate and activate the necessary combination of creativity and teamwork that we will all need to navigate the uncertain automated world to come.
This is an edited version of an article first published on Hackernoon