When you are settled into the darkness of the cinema, popcorn on your lap, ready to watch the latest sci-fi movie, you are preparing to think about a potential future scenario for humankind. Often those scenarios are very dramatic – and sometimes, they might seem a little far-fetched. But most contain a kernel of reality. And so, in a sense, we could theoretically prepare for them.
However, those films only really cover the high risks we can imagine – and we live in a world where so much is changing, so fast, that the future seems more uncertain than ever. There may be new risks that our minds have not yet conceived of, which we can’t imagine right now.
Even the threats we can imagine – like a pandemic – might not play out the way we imagine they will. Which of us really thought we would be under lockdown conditions for as long as we were? Or that the Covid-19 pandemic would fundamentally change the way so many of us live, work and play – and even take care of our health? How many of us could really imagine that we would find ourselves where we are today in just a few short years?
When we analyze the pandemic and our response to it, we can see that digitization played a vital role in making it possible to survive. We were all isolated from each other, and without digital tools facilitating both communication and commerce, much of humanity and business might not have survived.
Think of videoconferencing, for instance. Instead of just talking on the phone and hearing someone’s voice, we are able to see the person we are talking to: to read their body language and understand their emotions through their expressions. Tools like this gave us the ability to adapt and lead quite a normal life. And really, what makes us human is both our ability – and our need – to communicate.
How digitization got us this far
From a business perspective, the companies that thrived despite the pandemic were those that made every effort to provide technical support to both staff and customers, so that the virtual environment could be used in a professional way. During the worst of the pandemic, that virtual environment bore the entire operation of many companies.
Digitization is at the heart of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). And in a sense, we were thrust into 4IR as it became a necessity rather than just a concept that people discussed; something that belonged to the future.
Digitization is at the heart of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). And in a sense, we were thrust into 4IR as it became a necessity rather than just a concept that people discussed; something that belonged to the future. What is missing now is a new revolution in respect of humans and planets. My perspective is that we face not so much an uncertain future, as an unsafe future.
This is not just because people have changed, or because change is bad – change is necessary and natural, and part of progress. However, it also comes with a dark side. We have become pretentious, consumerist and superficial – we are too anchored in the present, without focusing on the future. And many of our advances – the things that differentiate us from other species – have led to dramatic environmental changes.
Humans are very adaptable, but we all need to do more about the sustainability of the planet – and do it now. We need more respect and care for the environment, for people and for society, so that we can work together to think of plans to mitigate some of the risks.
Powering sustainable transformation
In a profit-driven society, a focus on people and environment has been neglected. In a world fragmented by competing interests and full of social gaps, people fail to understand that advancing technology in poor countries benefits us all, globally. Enhancing the standard of living in poorer countries increases our overall wealth and civilization.
In a world fragmented by competing interests and full of social gaps, people fail to understand that advancing technology in poor countries benefits us all, globally. Enhancing the standard of living in poorer countries increases our overall wealth and civilization.
We invest in futuristic projects like the proposed trip to Mars, or discovering the mysteries of black holes, and that progress is good for humanity – but perhaps we are still investing too little in everyday issues, such as increasingly serious diseases that could be eradicated by genetic testing and research. In addition, more investment in tackling hunger, climate change, and water and resource shortage is urgently required.
What many also fail to understand is that an educated, healthy society – across all the countries of the world – results in people who can contribute intelligently to the development of society on a global scale. We need a much more inclusive, integrated approach to digitization, so that it benefits all of humankind, and so that we don’t have a world where only certain lives matter in some situations.
We need global plans. Why don’t we try to create a better world to live in, and to leave for our children? Global companies could create a consortium to assess and address global pain points for the good of all – not for their own benefit alone.
We need to share what we have gained and here, digitization is key, because tools that allow people to participate virtually give broader access to spaces they might ordinarily not be able to participate in.
Furthermore, there are exciting developments on the horizon in a variety of fields, such as the ability of AI to strengthen global healthcare. We must use these for the benefit of all – not just the wealthy countries.
How can digitization help?
Information is key and how we handle it can make the difference between regression, stagnation and progress. Human beings learn from experiences, and society can grow based on individual and collective experiences, as digitization is able to turn these life lessons into information. By using AI one can generate results, make predictions, evaluate situations or give some hints about potential risks.
Machine learning can help to predict chaotic processes like global weather events, which could help to stave off a great deal of human suffering, if we were able to put mitigation plans in place before these events occur.
Digitization also helps us to put more effort into creating education platforms, and making them available across all social stratas. This could have a positive impact on the overpopulation of the planet or the identification of early-stage diseases.
Smart homes or buildings can support and bring comfort to people. Intelligent robots can do the mundane tasks that humans don’t want to do – such as sorting and collecting garbage – leaving human beings to do more creative, high-level, intrinsically human tasks that will bring them greater fulfillment and advance our society.
Nanoparticles injected into the eye could allow troops to gain night vision, or help to improve the vision of those who have impaired vision… and the list goes on.
The bottom line is that if we can invest more in projects that put humans first – and make them available for everyone – we can start to create a world that is far more resilient, more capable, and more able to face the uncertainties that we haven’t yet begun to imagine.
The bottom line is that if we can invest more in projects that put humans first – and make them available for everyone – we can start to create a world that is far more resilient, more capable, and more able to face the uncertainties that we haven’t yet begun to imagine, while making the future safer for all of us.
To put it simply, we should live our lives thinking and acting in relation to the people we call family and humanity, and the place we cherish and lovingly call home: with respect and love, as if we believe we will live forever, needing health, resources, happiness and peace.
