It’s called the economy of life-long learning – aka the digital age, aka the fourth industrial revolution.
And we’re just at the beginning. Newer and newer technologies are creating accelerating changes impacting the way we live, work, produce and consume. Within the next decade, it is expected that more than a trillion sensors will be connected to the Internet. By 2025, 10% of people will be wearing clothes connected to the Internet and the first implantable mobile phone is expected to be sold. Today, tomorrow, in the future – how are we coping and how will all of this transform our lives, including our personal privacy, data security and personal relationships?
Our Millennial Bloggers are based all over the world. They are innovators in entrepreneurship, journalism, education, entertainment, and academic scholarship. This month we asked them: Are you loving the fourth industrial revolution?
“First and foremost, we have to educate the younger generations with necessary skills,” writes Reetta Heiskanen. “Technology shouldn’t be seen as something that you can’t build yourself. It should be seen as a tool and an approachable part of life that you really can have an affect on.” Read: How will the Fourth Industrial Revolution Impact our Societies?
“While it is a choice to keep up with today’s definition of connectivity or not, like anything else that choice has consequences,” writes Sajia Darwish. “It affects the circle of one’s real life friends and those on the Internet.” Read: Closer or More Distant.
“What if, in 50 or so years, 90 percent of jobs were replaced by robots?“ writes Francisco Hernandez. “Technology is making skills and knowledge the only source of sustainable strategic advantage. Capitalism will succeed or fail based on the investments it makes in human capital, even if its theology continues to be one of individualism, consumerism, and greed.” Read: Will Capitalism Survive the Robot Revolution?
“This revolution has its bloody and dark underbelly: billions of people have cars that cannot get on the highway,” writes Jacob Deleon Navarrete. These old cars are made for local routes, hidden trails, and off-road beauty; they lack the sophisticated sensors and mechanisms to make sense of the revolution’s new language.” Read: What’s the Speed Limit Again?
“There are many ways that social media is affecting our relationships,” writes Isadora Baum, “as while it keeps us in the know, by way of Facebook “likes” and Instagram comments, it also undermines the importance of face-to-face connections.” Read: 3 Ways That Social Media Affects Our Relationships.
“I’m in a cubicle, trying to sort through a maddening phone tree and a computer system that seems to make it impossible to complete the tasks to enable the arrival of a new intern,” write James Kernochan. In an ideal world, technology would remove the unpleasant labor from our lives and free up our time for community, and for imaginative pursuits of a wide variety.” Read: Cuts Filters and Voids: What’s the Technological Future?
“I bring Gandhi into play today, to frame this discussion,” writes Harmony Siganporia. “How are machines or the ‘craze’ for them which now seems inescapable, given how thoroughly they’ve permeated every aspect of our existence, going to transform our lives? Is there a chance that this will have to involve re-imagining and re-defining what is meant by the descriptor ‘human’ itself?” Read: Of machines, cyborgs, an old imp, and a spinning-wheel (also, technically, a machine).
“As the world moves into an era of big data and the gigabit economy, there is a huge digital gap, especially among women, that we must not neglect,” writes Bonnie Chiu. “From our work providing digital training to marginalised women at the bottom of the pyramid, we have come to realise that technology is the best tool to accelerate societal progress towards gender equality.” Read: Accelerating Gender Equality Through Technology.
“Even though the level of technological development might not have reached the same levels in Africa as it has in the Global North, its effect cannot be ignored,” writes Dominique Dryding. “Social media and technological advancement have led to innovative crime fighting and local conflict resolution strategies. It has also led to knowledge dissemination and the perception of government being closer to the individual.” Read: The Effect of Technological Development on peace and security in Africa.
“Companies like Google and Facebook are already on a mission to create augmented reality with products like Google glass and Oculus. Facebook recently demonstrated new gaming technology that allows you to interact with objects around you,” writes Wilson Carter III. “The biggest threat will ultimately be the security of all this information.” Read: Technology in 2017.
The Millennial Bloggers hail from all over the world. Each writer is also a world traveler and, collectively, they have worked on every continent. The Millennials claim their roots in diverse locations: the United States, Hong Kong, South Africa, India, Sierra Leone, New Zealand, Afghanistan, and Finland.
The Millennial Bloggers are Alusine Barrie, Sajia Darwish, James Kernochan, Kamna Kathuria, Jacob Deleon Navarrete, Reetta Heiskanen, Shay Wright, Isadora Baum, Wilson Carter III, Francisco Hernandez, Erin Farley, Dominique Alyssa Dryding, Harry Glass, Harmony Siganporia and Bonnie Chiu. These remarkable young people have produced shows and founded companies. They have been featured on Forbes ‘Asia 30 Under 30’ list and honored by Asian Women of Achievement Awards. They have been awarded numerous scholarships and fellowships. They hold Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees. They run schools and train educators in underprivileged communities. They have taught all over the globe in environments ranging from maximum security prisons to elementary schools.
This post first appeared here.
