Latin Land
Relief for an automated world
Disclaimer: This is a piece of speculative fiction created by a group of students attempting to imagine how automation can shape the world depending on different socioeconomic contexts.
We are always wondering what life will look like in the future. And while this question makes the imagination of people run wild, it seems that humanity has reached a historical moment when the “future” seems to be coming closer quicker than ever.
Technologies that were in their developmental stages 10 years ago have now reached high levels of sophistication by now. Whether it’s the use of artificial intelligence in school environments or the fact that voice recognition software has progressed to a point that users can now ask deep philosophical questions to their smart assistant. Above all of these technological milestones, automation is possibly the one that will have the deepest effect on our livelihood.
While automation is a great aid towards making human society drastically more efficient, it also threatens the existence of jobs that will soon be replaced by machines. This is certainly not breaking news, the effect of automation on the job market has been studied, analyzed and probably triggered a few panic attacks on lawmakers, economists and academics. It would appear to be that no job is safe from the cold steely grasp of the machine world.
An obvious example of this is seen in retail around the developed world where self-checkout is the norm, but what about other jobs? Let’s take teaching as an example. Online learning is growing every day, from academic focused services like Udemy or Lynda to YouTube tutorials. While these educational tools still depend on humans, it’s not difficult to predict a future where human tutors are not essential to the learning experience.
While it’s easy to be overly pessimistic about the effects of automation, it is undeniable that this is the only way forward for humanity. Now more than ever finding efficiency in the way we use our resources is crucial for our survival. But like most things in life, it is all a matter of balance, this time between humans and machines.
Latin Land is an idea that was conceived by interpolating immigration process of two Master of Digital Media students and their Canadian classmate (of Latin American descent), who have been their interpreter and guide to their new surroundings.
These newcomers suddenly found themselves in the midst of a developed country where automation is present in daily activities, a phenomenon that occurs at a much slower pace in their countries of origin (Ecuador and Colombia). While their lives were made easier by automated services it also led them to ask themselves if too much of something good can turn it bad; Or if an automated world necessarily means a higher quality of life.
In order to understand the concept of Latin Land, do a brief experiment. We want you to imagine a fully automated developed country 50 years from now. A country that is progressively seeing jobs turned over to machines. In this country, basic income is guaranteed to their citizens by the state. But this is also a country in deep crisis, a crisis derived from lacking a sense of purpose. While the monetary needs of the citizens of this country are taken care off, the emptiness of unemployment is felt on a spiritual level. In this world, a group of high profile Latin American tourism companies have found the next big trend for their industry: make their clients feel like purposeful humans again. And how will they achieve this? Simple: Give them back the experience that automation took away from them!
If we take emotional development through human interaction as a key element of a high quality of life, it wouldn’t be so crazy to think that South American countries could be the next destination for Canadians who search for the human interaction that they lack in their constantly automated world. Although this statement seems to be drastic now, in the future, having a place where automation hasn’t taken over might be a selling point for tourist destinations. If a service like dark tourism where visitors go to places associated with death and tragedy (eg. The Monaco Building in Medellin) is already a thing, the next big trend could as well be to provide people with an old world feel. Latin Land will act as a theme park for those who want to see a “pre-automation world”.
All this with the aim of offering participants a chance to experiment the lost interactions of antiquated ways of life, that would, in turn, be translated into meaningful life experiences that fill emotional gaps in their own hearts. Enabling future generations to interact with “ancient values” can rekindle their ability to interact and share with one another, something that humanity is starting to crave more and more in the modern world.
Written by: Lucas Arias-Valenzuela, Andres Arteaga and Carlos Ferro
