Life Post China: Some Reflections
Last Sunday, I came back from China, where I was for 9 days attending the World Economic Forum Annual meeting of the New Champions (AMNC) and climbing the great wall of China, among other adventures. A week has passed since and I still feel that I came back from a dream, rather than from another country.
Growing up in a small village in the mountains of Lebanon, my mom and dad, who are both teachers, always emphasized on the importance of education and gathering knowledge. “Seek knowledge and wisdom, even if your journey takes you to China”, my dad would say. China was definitely a very far away place, both in my parents’ eyes and mine. Even when I grew up, left home, built many homes for myself abroad, and visited 30 countries, China was still this far-away place that I needed to visit, without really finding the time or the right context to do so.
But life can surprise us in beautiful ways and the universe can conspire to let us do the right things at the right moment. One year and a half after joining the Global Shapers community of the World Economic Forum, I found myself applying to the Annual meeting of the New Champions (AMNC), also called summer Davos, in China. I was luckily selected, together with 72 other Global Shapers, to represent the voice of millennials in this meeting, considered as the foremost global gathering on science, technology and innovation. I was thrilled and excited, and phoned my dad to tell him that I was following his advice and seeking knowledge in China. He laughed and said that he never imagined I would follow his metaphorical advice literally one day.
My trip to China was one of the most memorable adventures of my life, to say the least. It opened my mind and heart to the larger world and reminded me that I was part of something bigger than myself. It made me reflect on the future of humanity and how I, in my modest capacity as one person, can contribute to shaping this future. What adds to the uniqueness of my China trip is that it happened in a time of my life when I was deeply questioning my purpose and my journey. My work schedule was intense, traveling often between London and Amsterdam, but I felt lost from the inside, lacking directions and unable to think beyond deliverables and deadlines. Sharing how China changed my state of mind is a challenging task. What I hope to convey, through this blog, are the main impressions that my short journey in China left me with.
Climbing walls for building bridges
My journey in China debuted with climbing the Great wall of China, a multi-steps mission including waiting in endless queues, riding a cable car with a minimal level of safety, climbing the very steep steps of the great wall (equivalent of 20 floors) under a 32 degrees burning sun at noon time, sliding down a hill on a toboggan (this literally happened!) and hiding (without much success) from a crazy tropical thunderstorm. In this mission, I was accompanied by a group of Global Shapers from different countries and walks of life. Although I hardly knew most of them at the start of the day, I found myself leaning on them for overcoming my fear of heights when taking the cable car, for finding strength to keep walking despite the heat and fatigue, and for enjoying the beautiful scenery that unveiled itself the further we climbed. We encouraged each other, took many photos, gave each other a helping hand and a supportive smile, and got to know each other very well in the process. Arriving at the end point of the great wall, we felt bonded forever by this beautiful moment that will turn soon into an unforgettable memory: we just climbed together the great wall of China!

Thinking of Economics as Doughnuts
After climbing the great wall, it was time to move from Bejing to Dalian where the Annual Meeting of the New Champions was held. My agenda was full of overlapping sessions on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to rural entrepreneurship. Choosing where to go revealed to be a bit of a challenge but, with a lot of luck, I ended up in one session that opened my eyes to a different form of economics: the doughnuts economics.
During this session, Kate Raworth, an Oxford economist and researcher, was passionately questioning mainstream economics. “The way we do economics today is solely based on considerations like economic growth and utility. The well-being of people and of our planet are at the bottom of the considerations, if these elements are considered at all” Kate argues. Kate’s life journey took her to Africa where she extensively worked with micro-entrepreneurs, as well as to Oxfam and UNDP in New York, and led her to realize that the current economics system does not address the challenges of the 21st century, climate change, extreme inequality and poverty to list a few. In response, she proposed a new model for economics, “the doughnuts economics”, where people’s well-being and the health of the planet are put at the center of economic decisions and are the main drivers for these. Her reflections are already put together in her book “Doughnut economics: 7 ways to think like a 21st century economist”, which is definitely on my to-read list.

On-boarding Humanity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Although I am not an economist, Kate’s session filled me with questions. I started to think about how, as a data scientist and a techie, I can help implement the doughnuts economics. As I attended new sessions, I slowly started finding answers to my questions.
The fourth industrial revolution, a term put forward by professor Klaus Schwab, founder and chairman of the World Economic Forum, was at the heart of the sessions that I attended. According to professor Schwab, the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the line between the physical, digital and biological spheres. This revolution is enabled through the emergence of the Internet of Things, the explosion of highly diversified data, the transition towards new forms of computing such as super-computing and quantum computing, the advancement of machine learning techniques and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered systems, among other things. The 4IR manifestations will be horizontal, touching nearly every industry we can think of: healthcare, education, energy, media entertainment, politics, even love! One of the sessions that I attended discussed precision medicine, consisting of an automated prediction and prevention of diseases based on a customized processing of a mix of data including genesis data, lifestyle data from social media, activity data from body sensors and other contextual information like geographic footprint. Another session discussed the future of learning languages and suggested building apps that automatically adapt to the learning rhythm of the user, instead of adopting the same approach with everyone. The future of neuroscience was also discussed, with the emergence of techniques that allow translating electroencephalogram images from the brain into actions that do not require human intervention. Have you ever thought that flowers will be sent to your girlfriend/boyfriend just by you thinking about it? or that an email will be written and sent to your colleagues without you touching your keyboard?
While all of this sounds really exciting and futuristic, I could not help but think about it from a doughnuts perspective. 60% of the jobs that we know today are likely to disappear in 2030. If diagnosing diseases, teaching languages and providing remote assistance are all automated, what will the doctors, educators and call agents of tomorrow be doing? People and industries should be prepared and new models for education and employment should be put in place, to make sure that the fourth industrial revolution is a step towards a more inclusive world. In my modest opinion, this can happen through a succession of steps. First, the concept of the fourth industrial revolution should cross the borders of elite gatherings to reach the wider crowd, including the most disadvantaged communities. By publishing a book on the 4IR, Professor Schwab already made a first step in this direction. Nevertheless, as Shapers, we share the responsibility of spreading awareness in this context within our local communities, especially among the most impacted groups. Second, the workforce of today and tomorrow should be given the opportunity to learn the skills they need to thrive in the 4IR era, including skills related to technology development, advanced analytics, robotics and implementing agile processes. The increasing internet penetration and the availability of free e-learning resources are major enablers in this context. Education is no longer about sitting in a classroom and passively listening to a two hours lecture, it is a continuous self-initiated process where each person has the right to learn anytime, anywhere, anything, at any pace and at almost no cost. To make this mass yet customized learning journey successful, it should be marketed as part of a journey towards an exciting future that we are collectively building and shaping as a humanity. Third, and most importantly, policies should be put in place to cope with all the disruptions that are likely to be caused by the fourth industrial revolution. When saying this, I am not only referring to the ethical side of editing genes or 3D printing human organs, I am also thinking about the future of work and the impact of automation on employment. Having worked in big corporates, I am very much aware that bringing in change in large well-established organizations is not easy. However, industry leaders have a moral responsibility to brainstorm about the changes happening in their respective industries and to take the decisions to maximize the positive impact of these changes, from a doughnuts perspective rather than from a pure profit-based one. Answering questions like which jobs are likely to appear/ disappear in my company in 10 years, how to move from the current pool of skills in my company to the one needed in 10 years while positively influencing the well-being of my employees and of the planet, is a must-do for every CEO, well before 2030. Following this reflection, employees at high risk should be given the time and means to re-educate themselves and to channel their efforts towards the jobs of tomorrow.
It is not about big and small, it is about fast and slow
AMNC went fast. During the last day, we were given the opportunity to meet professor Schwab and to brainstorm with him about the 4IR. It is needless to say how much of a visionary this man is, but what stroke me the most in this almost 80 years old man that had a very eventful life to say the least, was his attitude towards change. Professor Schwab made jokes about seeking his grandchildren’s help for managing his digital experience, a clear attestation that learning even from those who are much younger than us and embracing transformation rather than isolating ourselves are the best ways to keep up with a rapidly-changing world. Professor Schwab also stated that in a world shaped by the 4IR, it is not the big fish that will eat the small fish, it is rather the fast fish that will win over the slow one. Can you imagine living without internet? Soon enough, it will be hard for you to imagine living without your AI doctor, your AI personal assistant that books your flights and manages your schedule, and all these learning apps that make the current concept of university just irrelevant. Corporates, governments and individuals should not only react quickly but should also be pro-active, putting in place appropriate strategies, policies and learning schemas to make sure that the 4IR works for everyone.
The last day of AMNC also marked my participation as a speaker in a panel about digital identity and social inclusion, together with four prominent technology leaders. During the panel, we reflected on how online data mining and aggregation can be of value for vulnerable populations, such as refugees. Challenges like data privacy and identity usurpation were mentioned and discussed. The panel and the audience both came to the conclusion that, with the right schemes of data governance, the advantages brought by using selected pieces of our online data for delivering pre-agreed services outnumber the underlying risks.

In the 4IR era, kindness remains the most universal language
The end of AMNC and bidding farewell to many of the Shapers made me feel sad. It is both surprising and magical how you can bond with people you did not know over just a couple of days. I was filled with kindness and promises to stay in touch and meet again soon. I traveled back to Bejing and stayed there for another day during which the company of other shapers based in Bejing or traveling through it added to the magic of my experience. During my last afternoon in Bejing, I found myself roaming alone in the beautiful gardens around the Temple of heaven. There, I found a chinese band playing traditional chinese music. I sat down to listen and realized that I was the only non-Chinese in the audience. Although people around me did not speak a word of English, their smiles welcomed and comforted me. Few moments later, they invited me to dance which I did for 30 minutes or so before remembering that I had to go pack my luggage and prepare myself for coming back. It is only when I was about to take a taxi that I realized that I did not have any cash on me. Unlike big western cities, ATMs are not around every corner in Bejing and with no internet and no command of mandarin finding one is not an easy task. An old Chinese man noticed my confusion and came to the rescue. Using only gestures, he understood what I was looking for and asked me to follow him. This man, a complete stranger that does not speak English, walked with me for 40 minutes till we reached an ATM. There, he said what I would think of as “take care”, smiled and left. I got the money I needed and came back to the hotel but was still marveled by how kind random people can be. I also thought of similar situations that happened to me during my past travels and felt more convinced than ever that kindness, even in its basic non-speaking form, is the first language that we humans learn. It may not be enough for belonging to a specific country or tribe, but it is definitely enough for unleashing the divine within ourselves and for connecting to the wider humanity.
I went to China for seeking knowledge through a conference. What China gave me was knowledge and wisdom, inspiration and drive, a great support network, and above all an appetite for love, in all of its shapes and forms. I sincerely hope to be able to embed the beauty of this Chinese dream in my daily life and to use all the learnings to drive change, big and small.
