THE FUTURE WE SEE
Sunday Oct. 27, 2019
There was a time before the internet – back then, what did we wake up to?
Sure, the radio, but there was a time before radio – what did we wake up to then?
Was it a rooster crowing about dawn’s early light or the first breeze in the rain to wet our faces as we greeted morning rain – oh my, coffee perked, bacon snapped, and eggs sizzled in a pan – conversation with self or others, newspapers and the shower? The phone didn’t ring, and there was no cable, no cable TV, no 24-hour channels, or streaming services to give us the weather report. We pulled open curtains for our surprise, what could it be?
Not long ago.
Sure, it has been decades now, but this is less than a moment in time which passed. One day, probably sooner than most of us can fathom right now, everything in life we used to think about – things we had to think about to run our daily lives will be on an APP.
Here is my question: when we don’t have to think about any of the things we think about now, what will we think about then?
My answer is, we will think about health, the weather, about all those things we have to do today – and one way we’ll wake up to realize there are so many fundamental things in life we’ve lost the art of doing, the magic of doing. Someone will give us a compass and a loud rooster to guide our lives, but we won’t have a clue how to find our way.
As A.I. and Siri invade our world; correction, they’ve already invaded. When A.I. and Siri take over, what will like look like, what will happen to purpose, meaning, and value? A new generation of humans will be interested in A.I., cryptocurrencies, and Blockchain the way we were focused on sex, drugs, and rock & roll, the Beatles, and fashion in the sixties.
Times change a lot, people and society changing direction, rabbit-like, at an exponential rate while the planet itself lags at its same old tortoise pace. We who are older will simply do what older people have always done – we will manage the speed at which we are falling behind. Some will make no effort, some will make yeoman efforts to die their hair, run marathons, and emulate younger people – and there is some sound thinking in that. Most of us will muddle along in the middle of those extremes, consult children, and grandchildren for advice on how to work the newest gadget, APP, or doo-dad.
And rivers will still flow, fish will swim, and birds will fly.
