Being Human in the 21st Century #5 — The World Outside, The World Within
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We don’t have to look far to find examples of just how much the world around us is changing thanks to technology. What continuously baffles me is the fact that we are not doing much to rethink our own lives at a very deep level, we don’t talk about how we have to evolve in order to keep up with these changes.
I hope that you’ll join me on the journey of trying to figure out just what it is that we need to do to realize own our full potential, maximize the quality of the relationships in our lives, understand our meaning in life, and leave society and world in a slightly better place than it was when we got here.
The Word Outside, The World Within
I don’t know if it’s the result of paying more attention since November or whether there is a genuine increase in the amount of news around climate change. Point is, this topic is one that seems very hard to ignore these days. Between hearing of the impending cuts to the EPA and a general flood of articles on the topic ranging from NASA to HBS students doing research on the impacts of climate change on major companies to the Defence Secretary saying it’s actually a matter of national defense in its own right to simulations of what a map of NYC will look like with increased weather change, I’m getting both more worried about our current situation and more frustrated with myself.
As easy as it is to point to others, especially climate change deniers (I appreciate the comparison to those denying the harms of smoking decades ago), I can’t help but realize that I am not doing all that I can to minimize my own carbon footprint, whether in the form of not using plastic bags to cutting down on meat consumption (I say after having eater a burger with beef and chorizo) to realizing that I left the lights on in my room while I’m writing this on the couch. Seems I’m not the only one who successfully avoids information that seems unpleasant to me. Yay thumb activism and selective reasoning. It’s easy to say that it’s just a drop in the ocean, that our own personal actions are insignificant relative to the major polluters, but we can’t forget that oceans themselves are nothing but billions of drops.
It’s easy to get defeated when we think of the extent of questionable information or general lack of honesty/accountability that prevails around us or the fact that society is in many ways focusing on all the wrong problems, but we have to look to encouraging signs like kids getting taught coding to spot fake news/learning how to code in general and hope that future generations will be more well equipped to deal with information and getting people the truth.
We’re seeing all kinds of amazing projects that could solve blackouts in Australia, or help anyone who’s willing the time to learn some basic tech start creating DIY IoT solutions, to more lower-cost connected devices in our homes. As more and more folks under the age of 35 are running for office, especially those who are willing to use tech to help us see that no matter where come from we still have our similarities, I hope that we will see a reversal in some of these trends. On the flipside, news of surveillance or misuse of facial recognition can quickly squash all hope of the positive uses of tech, but I would argue that we have more to gain from the advances than we stand to lose. Plus, let’s be serious, we all gladly give boatloads of data for convenience or fun, so we have to acknowledge our own role in all of the issues facing society.
As we continue to learn more about ourselves, whether that’s in a business context on how we work as teams or otherwise, we have to remember that if we hold ourselves accountable for all of our actions and use technology for the benefits that it brings without submitting ourselves to the distractions, a lot of amazing things are possible. I mean, AI systems can help plan more efficient transport for schools, Harvard scientists are theorizing about potential alien travel, VR worlds are starting to get created that could be as complex as the real-world, and quantum computers might end up using our DNA or atoms for storage — how cool is that? Yes, there are a lot of scary things going on around us and fear of the unknown always crops up within, but if we just concentrate on improving ourselves, taking accountability for everything we do, and focusing on self-improvement, I have faith that we’ll learn how to tackle these problems and whatever else the future has in store for us.
Top Three Articles
Millennials May Be the First Generation to Lose a Majority of their Jobs to Automation — Economical Millennial
US Defence Secretary James Mattis says climate change is already destabilising the world — Independant
Delaware is Drafting Law That Would Recognize Blockchain Records — CoinDesk
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Happy learning!
