Why Wonder? Notes about the future
The world is changing incredibly fast. Not only certain technologies go out of date, but also lifestyle habits, arrangements, and even political and economic structures and regimes. We no longer just innovate the tools, we’re now innovating our way of living. This brings some new problems. Many studies talk about robots taking over soon, and according to The Economist, “By 2037, an estimated 47% of jobs currently done by humans will be performed by machines”. Looking into details is a lot more interesting. Automation and robots have already resulted in 85% of factory jobs lost in the US in the last 5 years. What seems to be is that robots have been taking over manual work for some time now.
This creates some tension. Our world is based upon the premise that it is important to have a job. Even better if it’s a secure one and pays well. It’s a plus if you enjoy it, but not essential. This living arrangement is becoming out of date. It is no longer possible to study once and work for the rest of life. New jobs come faster than generations change. Technically, it is no longer even necessary to work. Despite the job loss, there’s a lot more money and value produced by the same factories.
This problem can be partially addressed with the onset of Universal Basic Income (UBI) and consequently improve the social imbalance. However, the issue of us ‘needing a job’ is yet to be resolved. It is not the most comfortable feeling to be out of a job. Even with UBI we’re driven to make ourselves ‘useful to the society’ and do something that community benefits from. Whether it’s internal (own beliefs) or external - in the form of peer pressure or conversations with family members - it is still common to think that way. It simply doesn’t feel good to be unemployed.
Of course, it may seem as if we’re still far away from such advances and having to face these issues. Yet practice proves that wrong, with giant leaps not only in manufacturing but also in artificial intelligence and mixed reality. With the arrival of (level 4) autonomous vehicles, the entire vehicle industry will start changing rapidly — bearing in mind it is one of the biggest ‘employers’ in the world.
What about other jobs? Today you can find several robots, which are capable of simple tasks, such as tracking your schedule, turning appliances on and off and even bringing certain items over to you. These robots are already in use as sales consultants by some slightly more extravagant brands in the US and Europe. It won’t be long until we see robot waiters and attendants. In fact, it has been done before and improvements are already underway. Industries will be changed one by one. It is likely to happen quite a bit faster than we expect.
Now that we set the landscape for where we’re heading, what happens in this ‘Brave New World’? Do people just turn into consumers, slowly degrading in their expertise, knowledge and production value? Though it is a possibility, homo sapiens are historically known to prove themselves very adaptable and able to constantly reinvent their societal structures. When humans no longer need to work for a living and have entire days (and weeks and months) left at their disposal, what do they do?
The world as we see it is a grand playground of ideas, inventions and tools. Today, people reinvent themselves switching careers from traditional work to digital jobs, including robotics and artificial intelligence.
We’ve built Wonder as a platform where anyone can get their hands on the latest technology products, learn more about them and get inspired. Users can then share your own favourite “toys” and maybe even make some new ones. As tools become simpler and easier to use (such as 3D printers), more and more people will be able to use them.
Some of the products we have on Wonder today are simple enough for children to use and program, as evidenced by their existing applications. In a world where a great number of options exist to satisfy one’s curiosity, gain new skills and apply them in a meaningful way, one becomes busy with increasingly satisfying activities on a regular basis.
We see an incredible amount of new products created by small teams or even individuals and supported by the wider community by the means of crowdfunding platforms. You can try a selection of such products today, some of which disrupted entire industries (e.g. coffee production).
As we build new things, we also make simpler and more accessible tools to create them. It is now easier than ever to make new products, as 3D printing becomes cheaper and more accessible.
Wonder is most importantly, a sharing community. We want to make it easier for our members to not only try the latest products but also share their own creations. Today we work with a number of startup teams who are sharing their inventions via the platform. We’re making the platform a mean to explore such inventions, get inspired and create your own. Curiosity and the ability to create something new is an integral part of what being human means to us. We want to work towards the future where everyone is able to turn any idea in their head into practical reality.
One might say that we’re on the verge of something incredible happening, but even that would be (a bit) misleading. We’re past this point. We already live in the future. We’ve already changed our world using technology and made ourselves dependent on it. Due to the widespread usage of the Internet for logistics and supply chain, any significant failure of the network would cause famine throughout the developed countries as it will be impossible to ensure timely deliveries using the old means.
Technology may make us increasingly dependent, but it is what makes humans, humans. Long before the Internet, we relied on technology, such as the automobile industry for transportation, and before that on trains and ships. Some 10,000 years ago we first relied on ‘technology’ when we reached the agricultural revolution. Similarly, artificial intelligence, robots and mixed reality are just another set of tools we’re creating, simply more powerful and inspiring than ever before.
It is of course, a little unnerving to look at all the new tech and view it as just a tool. Many of the products don’t come across as friendly at all. Some even feel alien and too complex to use.
At Wonder we want to simplify this. We attempt to create a friendly way to explore technology. Make it natural, accessible and something that feels nimble and familiar yet satisfies the feeling of curiosity about it. Our ‘measuring stick’ for the quality of a product available on Wonder is whether our parents could use it without external help and get excited by it. This is the bar we decided to set for ourselves.
To achieve this, we’re trying to reimagine the way people try new technology. Traditional packaging is often clunky and takes time. Some of the products are incredibly complex to set up and involve a lot of cabling. We cannot supply that. It is boring and confusing. Instead, we want to provide a ready-to-go package, where you can just press the button and it comes to life. Working over the last 3 months, we’ve been developing a new type of packaging, which can be seen as a simple element of furniture, blending naturally into your living room environment. It doesn’t look alien or temporary. It looks like something you might want to sit there anyway.
Just turn it on and you’re good to go. If you’d like to know more about the technology, it also includes a friendly letter from the lender helping anyone understand how it works and what it can be used for.
We aim to simplify the entire process of discovering and trying new tech, so anyone can find it easy and inspiring. In a world, where technology is simple, natural and accessible to everyone, many incredible opportunities, jobs and activities open up.
This is why we’re here today and we’re grateful for you being with us here. We hope you’ll share the road with us.
Alex
