All Your Problems Are Solved
My family likes to remind me that I can be an extremist at times. Shorts in the winter, sweaters in the summer, running 10Ks in the sun, Wim Hof-ing in Lake Ontario, or some other experiment. The same applies for thought experiments.
We’re getting better as a culture at problem resolution. Especially when it comes to customer service, there’s a huge improvement in what we get for what we pay, even in soft products. Sure, people can be nostalgic about the “friendly skies” of yore, but would they be willing to pay the equivalent of yore-year prices for this?
In 20 years, if your laptop breaks, will you need it repaired? What if you get it by drone within 5 minutes of it breaking, with the same apps loaded and ready (I’m imaging how antiquated this example will sound in 20 years)?
What if you’re thinking about vacation options for your family and you need to weigh your calendar, when the kids have school off, when there’s availability, and price vs comfort, flight departure and arrival times, and who will take you to the airport? What if these concerns were addressed and summarized for you?
In the end, what will happen when companies can anticipate problems you might face with their product or service and produce the solution immediately?
Will life get boring?
On the one hand, we might see a dystopia of all of us mindlessly scrolling the 2040 version of Instagram, Facebook, SnapChat, or whatever other media is available. Or, the tools that the free us will allow us to think about higher level problems and inequities. Even within the latter future, there’s a dystopian element. What if we end up doing creative pursuits that are just a time fillers rather than leading to some end? Or we just meditate all day without other purpose?
Let’s hope that’s not us in 20 years.
