Futurists are usually right, at the wrong time. The thing about true innovation, is almost everything is an expansion on an older idea. It isn’t until time and technology converge at that perfect moment that great ideas are executed. Ideas tend to spark well before the execution due to lack or resources, namely practicality.
For the last little while, I’ve talked a lot about the wonders of automation and robots. That in my vision of the seamless world, ambient computing, coupled with big data and predictive analytics, will make our lives very easy. But some have called me out on that – saying that this wonderful new wave of automation which I am talking about will cost jobs. That I can say all sorts of great things about the Ubers and the AirBnB’s of the world, but in the end, they cost jobs as opposed to creating them. They say that even though Uber seems to be creating opportunity and jobs right now, at some point in the future, they will probably fire all of their employees or contractors and move over to fully autonomous vehicles, therefore destroying thousands of jobs and putting all of these people out of work again.
If you are anything like me (and I hope not, cause I’m totally unique 😉 ) then you forget things. A lot. I’ve had to come up with systems to remember where my keys and wallet are (if I don’t put them back in the same place every time then I completely forget where they are) and I never, ever, remember anything I ever have to do. I always have to throw into some to-do list manager or Evernote, otherwise, I will forget.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I really enjoy talking to robots over people.
I mean, I can’t remember the last time I had to talk to a human in order to do any banking – I do most everything online unless I need cash (which is rarer and rarer) in which case I go to an ATM. I’ve been doing more and more buying via Amazon instead of going into stores, and I’d say that if it wasn’t for grocery shopping, and just meeting with people for various work and social reasons, I don’t think I’d need to deal with people, period. Dealing with people can be such a hassle, you know?
You guys! Remember The Jetson’s when George used to get home and his car would drop him onto a chair which was being pulled along by conveyor belt and he got given pretty much everything as he went by, even the slippers put on his feet by his loving wife?