The Abundance of Information
The exponential growth in the amount of data and information in the world has only just begun, and the annual size of the global datasphere, depicted below, is expected to reach 160 trillion gigabytes (or 160 zettabytes) by 2025.
Digital information will soon be woven into most aspects of our daily lives (where it has not penetrated already), from future smartphones that communicate with body monitoring devices and smart-pills, to AR layers blanketing the “real world”. We will seamlessly slide between realities as the digital world and the real world become increasingly interwoven.
With the increase in information (meaningful information) comes heightened efficiency. Inefficient models and structures will be replaced, as they have always been throughout history, with innovative models that solve “problems” that were once thought of as innovative solutions.
Data analysis tools, hardware, and the methods of analysis themselves, are being pushed to their limits as supercomputers process hundreds of gigabytes of data per second. Every second, twenty-four thousand gigs of data passes through the internet, providing access to endless information to over three billion people.
The Decomposition and Reconstruction of Tasks
We are at the beginning of a big shift towards tremendous efficiency, a transition that is breaking down the traditional structure of tasks and rebuilding them in more efficient ways. Just as the yellow taxi and taxi dispatcher were replaced with individuals that follow simple instructions on their phones while they drive, other tasks and jobs will be reconstructed.
One of the more obvious examples is peer to peer delivery. Though there may be nobody available to deliver a widget from point A to B, there may be a network of people (or machines, or a combo) willing to move said widget from point A to a point C, then from C to B. What has, in the past, been missing, is a way to coordinate the task, providing each party with the necessary information.
A more complex example may be a painting job. For example, someone requests through a system, perhaps through kaZING, that the side of their house be painted. The system asks questions about the task specs, and learns that scaffolding is necessary for the job. A painter is located through the system but the painter does not have access to scaffolding, so the system locates a neighbor in the community who is willing to rent out their scaffolding for a reasonable price. The customer (the person having their house painted) agrees to have the scaffolding delivered the morning before the painter starts in on the job. Perhaps another set of hands is summoned to help set up the scaffolding in a timely manner. Further variables may be paint that needs to be purchased and delivered to the house, a pressure washer, etc.. This coordination of networks of tools, resources, skills, and people will become logically integrated — simplifying even the most complex tasks.
AI and Technology-Aided Work-Spaces
As technology advances, support from technology will enhance job efficiency. AR glasses will display the wiring diagrams of a specific circuit the electrician is working on, and in some cases workers will follow step-by-step instructions from their virtual assistant. As technology and the abundance of information allow us to supersede the logistic capabilities of the world we live in now, we will begin to view tasks as a combination of smaller tasks.
Another exciting aspect of technology while working on anything, whether it’s tech help or a truck engine, is the fact that we will soon have access to advice and expertise in real time. Consulting and live advice is exploding online, and the future will bring live streams with professionals in the moment, allowing us to tap into a much greater knowledge base when we cannot find the answer on google.
Many Ways to Pay
We now live in a world with thousands of payment options. With more options (and better options) being invented, and with liquidity on the rise, it is easy to imagine a future where individuals define their payment preferences, and money is settled in their desired account, and perhaps in their desired currency. People will always have payment preferences, whether it is cash, checks (though how long will checks really last…), Venmo, bitcoin, and so on. Platforms that allow flexibility in the realm of payments, and more options when it comes to settlement, will likely be preferred.
Summary
Efficiency is on the rise as technology and access to abundant information transforms our reality. Tasks will be increasingly viewed as a series of steps and variables, and many will be completed by multiple agents, whether human or machine. Instructions, digital manuals, and access to advice and professionals in real time will aid workers on the job, and people will experience new freedoms when it comes to payments, currency, and accepting money.
