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	<title>singularity &#8211; After The Millennials</title>
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		<title>Thoughts from Europe&#8217;s Largest Tech Conference &#8211; and a Plea to the Next U.S. Administration!</title>
		<link>https://afterthemillennials.com/thoughts-from-europes-largest-tech-conference-and-a-plea-to-the-next-u-s-administration/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anne Boysen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2016 05:24:14 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Values]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[artificial intelligence]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="225" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%;" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-attachment-id="4551" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/shailey-woodley_websummit/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1000,750" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 5s&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1478689639&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.15&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;50&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="Shailey Woodley_websummit" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" /><p>Last week I attended Web Summit, Europe’s largest tech conference. This was the first year they summoned in Lisbon, Portugal having been in Dublin the years prior. The conference brings together over 50,000 attendees, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, globally renowned thought leaders and tech magnates as well as government officials ranging from city administrators to supranational...</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/thoughts-from-europes-largest-tech-conference-and-a-plea-to-the-next-u-s-administration/">Thoughts from Europe&#8217;s Largest Tech Conference &#8211; and a Plea to the Next U.S. Administration!</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com">After The Millennials</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="225" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-attachment-id="4551" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/shailey-woodley_websummit/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1000,750" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 5s&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1478689639&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.15&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;50&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="Shailey Woodley_websummit" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Shailey-Woodley_websummit-e1479772713246.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" /><p>Last week I attended Web Summit, Europe’s largest tech conference. This was the first year they summoned in Lisbon, Portugal having been in Dublin the years prior. The conference brings together over 50,000 attendees, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, globally renowned thought leaders and tech magnates as well as government officials ranging from city administrators to supranational institutions, such as the EU and the U.N.</p>
<div id="attachment_4549" style="width: 235px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a ref="magnificPopup" href="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/newsite20/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/sihk-and-astronaut_websummit-e1479772552727-1.jpg?ssl=1" rel="attachment wp-att-4549"><img decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4549" data-attachment-id="4549" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/sihk-and-astronaut_websummit/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/sihk-and-astronaut_websummit-e1479772552727.jpg?fit=750%2C1000&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="750,1000" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 5s&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1478703924&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.15&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;6&quot;}" data-image-title="sihk-and-astronaut_websummit" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/sihk-and-astronaut_websummit-e1479772552727.jpg?fit=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/sihk-and-astronaut_websummit-e1479772552727.jpg?fit=750%2C1000&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-4549 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/newsite20/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/sihk-and-astronaut_websummit-e1479772552727-1-225x300.jpg?resize=225%2C300&#038;ssl=1" alt="sihk-and-astronaut_websummit" width="225" height="300" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-4549" class="wp-caption-text">Diversity at the Web Summit</p></div>
<p>Insulated by the high-tech, progressive and dynamic culture characterizing my home city Austin, I haven’t done enough to understand what is moving and shaking outside of our SxSW infused city limits. So when I received an email invitation and free ticket to Web Summit from Paddy Cosgrave at first I didn’t know what to think. It turns out the Web Summit organizers walk the talk when it comes to tech. Artificial intelligence is not just something their speakers talk about and their start-up attendees pitch. Web Summit uses AI and network algorithms to organize every aspect of their events! And this is how I ended up with free tickets to a conference I didn’t know anything about. Paddy’s algorithms had honed in on me based on my work, interest, connections and other facets that would be a good fit for the Web Summit. Maybe they figured I would be likely to write about it, like I’m doing now?</p>
<p>Despite an audience far too large for the hosting arena on the opening night (I didn’t get in), the overall organization of the conference was well-planned and thought out. Whereas SxSWi takes place at various hotel locations around Austin city center, Web Summit confines its happenings to the giant MEO convention center, which actually consists of three consecutive convention centers followed by the 15,000 person arena. So you could easily move from one session to the next without accounting for the time it takes to get from A to B. It also made it easier to leave after a few minutes if the session didn’t meet expectations, which I found was rare given the quality of the speakers. Each stage was assigned an overall theme, such as Robotics and AI, Money and Fintech, and Future Societies (these were the ones I traversed the most),</p>
<p>The Night Summit is where much of the networking takes place. I was lucky to make several new contacts, some whom I am thankful to include into the fold of new friends, and I was able to strengthen existing connections. It is usually in these moments, where dynamic, future-oriented people from many countries are packed together that you get the inkling of where our future is headed next.</p>
<h2><strong>Asking ‘so what’ </strong></h2>
<p>The “so what” question tends to filter everything I absorb at these types of conferences. I was thankful that most of the sessions went deeper than the typical one-dimensional, somewhat naïve techno-optimistic narratives. Most panelists asked critical questions, more interested in seeing technology as neutral tools which can augment social good <em>and</em> bad. While I’m in technological awe with most of the startups pitching their products, the future needs more of us than merely being clever. It’s not enough for your gadget to pass the Turing test. I often think that to survive in an age where everybody wants to build a better mousetrap, your ideas have to pass the “Enduring test”. Not only does the product have to satisfy a distinct future need, the idiosyncratic social contexts within which these ideas are being implemented matter a great deal as well. For a startup to succeed, anticipating how human behavior succumbs to mercurial forces are at least as important as promoting a product which makes rational sense. The speakers’ ability to observe darker social forces is exactly why I didn’t want to be any other place the day after the U.S. election.</p>
<h2><strong>Technology and its backlash</strong></h2>
<p>All over the world tech communities depend on governments being open to change, scientifically oriented and inclusive of diversity. This is particularly important for younger generations who are coming of age sensing that the old paradigms aren’t working anymore. That the only roadmap to the future is one of trial and error, not exactly knowing if the pot at the end of the rainbow is full or gold or dirt. Where the best way forward is to explore new, creative ways that can disrupt unsustainable, unjust or inequitable elements of the status quo.</p>
<p>But breaking the status quo often means alienating the ones who technology leaves behind. People far away from these conventions who feel out-aged and out-performed rather than in awe by these new promises. The last two days after the election were filled with a mood reflecting these challenges. Is change accelerating so fast that people revert to fear instead of hope? Will we be able to get the right people into the right places when stringent new immigration policies take effect? Will all the “Girls in STEM” efforts pay off if our daughters are witnessing that the graphene-reinforced glass ceiling above them is less penetrable than ever before? Will we be able to move toward a renewable energy paradigm in spite of a regime that plans to put coal miners back into their obsolete jobs rather than training them for 21<sup>st</sup> century jobs?</p>
<p><strong><a ref="magnificPopup" href="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/newsite20/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Lisbon-is-not-Silicon-Valley_Websummit-e1479772640535-1.jpg?ssl=1" rel="attachment wp-att-4550"><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="4550" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/lisbon-is-not-silicon-valley_websummit/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Lisbon-is-not-Silicon-Valley_Websummit-e1479772640535.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1000,750" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 5s&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1478792755&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.15&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="lisbon-is-not-silicon-valley_websummit" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Lisbon-is-not-Silicon-Valley_Websummit-e1479772640535.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Lisbon-is-not-Silicon-Valley_Websummit-e1479772640535.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-4550 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/newsite20/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Lisbon-is-not-Silicon-Valley_Websummit-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225&#038;ssl=1" alt="lisbon-is-not-silicon-valley_websummit" width="300" height="225" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>In sharp contrast to a wall</strong> to keep immigrants out, the countries represented at the venue, especially the host country Portugal, extended welcoming graces to the many U.S. residents who suddenly felt displaced by their prospective government.</p>
<p>The last keynote was a panel interview with Iranian-born Shervin Pishevar and Josh Geigel, founders of Hyperloop One, the hypersonic transportation system that allegedly would make airplanes seem like horse and buggy. Hyperloop One recently decided to set up their first commercial route between Dubai and Abu Dhabi instead of San Francisco and Los Angeles as many had expected, perhaps an early caution of the reverse brain drain that might occur unless the new administration seriously commits to work with tech entrepreneurs and build tomorrow’s infrastructure.</p>
<p><strong>Web Summit’s new home is Lisbon</strong>, and if you decide to go next year, you won’t be disappointed. Not only is Lisbon, or Portugal in general, incredibly picturesque with its 17<sup>th</sup> century quaintly worn buildings flanking steep and narrow, cobblestone covered avenues transporting trams, vehicles and people in its dense and antique but pulsating city-scape. It’s the perfect choice of location where the old and preservation-worthy meets the high-tech that will bring us into the future. And if our next U.S. administration will understand that the new does not need to negate the old, but instead complement it and reinforce it, maybe we can continue to inch toward a better future for people and planet.</p>
<p><em>Image: Anne Boysen, Actress Shailey Woodley at Web Summit</em></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/thoughts-from-europes-largest-tech-conference-and-a-plea-to-the-next-u-s-administration/">Thoughts from Europe&#8217;s Largest Tech Conference &#8211; and a Plea to the Next U.S. Administration!</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com">After The Millennials</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">4548</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Preparing Post-Millennials for the Second Machine Age</title>
		<link>https://afterthemillennials.com/preparing-post-millennials-for-the-second-machine-age/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anne Boysen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2014 20:15:49 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forecasts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[future]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Generation Z]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Homeland generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[singularity]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://afterthemillennials.com/?p=3036</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="225" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?w=1936&amp;ssl=1 1936w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-attachment-id="3042" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/dee-chee/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?fit=1936%2C1452&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1936,1452" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="dee chee" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" /><p>&#160; 45 % of today&#8217;s jobs will disappear by 2035. Sure, job titles have come and gone over the centuries as we progress technologically, but this time we&#8217;re dealing with an entirely new animal. Computers are starting to replace us in jobs we thought were only human and pressing down the marginal cost in production...</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/preparing-post-millennials-for-the-second-machine-age/">Preparing Post-Millennials for the Second Machine Age</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com">After The Millennials</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="225" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?w=1936&amp;ssl=1 1936w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-attachment-id="3042" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/dee-chee/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?fit=1936%2C1452&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1936,1452" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="dee chee" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dee-chee.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" /><div style="width: 451px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a ref="magnificPopup" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Human_computers_-_Dryden.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Human_computers_-_Dryden.jpg" alt="" width="441" height="330" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Source: Wikimedia</p></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>45 % of today&#8217;s jobs will disappear by 2035.</p></blockquote>
<p>Sure, job titles have come and gone over the centuries as we progress technologically, but this time we&#8217;re dealing with an entirely new animal. Computers are starting to replace us in jobs we thought were only human and pressing down the marginal cost in production towards zero. Zero marginal costs means is that the production of an extra copy has no cost associated with it. Examples are digital replica of a musical file or newspaper article, or tax preparation software where the cost of doing tax 5 years is equal to one year whereas a CPA would charge extra for each additional year.  Some people would even include energy production after the investment in equipment for generating (solar, wind) and storing (batteries).  This dynamic decouples humans from the value chain and creates few winners and many losers. The best present-day example is possibly how computing went from being a human task to a computerized task, hence the word computer.</p>
<p><strong>The picture above is what computers looked like 60 years ago. </strong>I haven’t met any of these women, but I can guarantee you they have a much better grasp at trigonometry and calculus than I will ever have. And yet I wonder how they would react if I told them I can pull out a rectangular device from my pocket that gives access to most information ever known to man. Or communicate freely with people halfway across the world. How would they react if I told them this device would link us together in ways that would help organize political uprisings or aid in disaster areas? I wonder how they would respond if I said that a child living in sub-Saharan Africa is more likely to have access to a computer far better than those of their superiors at NASA than he is likely to have access to adequate food or sanitation.</p>
<p>The technological revolution that is going on right now is having such pervasive effects that it is upending how we live, how we work and eventually how we organize our society.</p>
<p><strong>A lot of literature and scholars</strong> are addressing these issues and what it means to be human in this emerging digital economy. Two books in particular have fascinated me recently as they complement each other by writing about the two most important consequences of this second machine age.</p>
<p><strong>The first book is what I would like to refer to as the first parenting book for futurists: </strong>&#8220;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Curiosity-Cycle-Preparing-Technological/dp/0615574734">The Curiosity Cycle</a>&#8221; by Jonathan Mugan.<strong> </strong>But really, if you’re just a geek expecting your first child and are hip to the idea that your child’s world will differ significantly from our own, you might want to clear some space in your bookshelf between Kurzweil and Spock (the doctor, not the pointy ear guy!) Jonathan Mugan’s academic background is in developmental psychology as well as in computer science and he researches how to teach machine to learn like children. He is an expert in identifying how children learn differently than machines. Brynjolfsson and McAfee&#8217;s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Second-Machine-Age-Technologies/dp/1480577472">The Second Machine Ag</a>e are more concerned with the societal and economic aspect of the digital economy, which is linked to <strong>automation</strong> and well as <strong>economies of scale</strong>.</p>
<p>Children learn by sensory input that helps them individuate concepts of things in their surroundings. They build models upon these and test these models in their everyday activities. This process goes through several iterations as they deepen their understanding of their environment. Mugan says that curiosity is at the root of human learning. When human learning is driven by curiosity it leads to flexible and adaptive thinking which is different from the brittle systematic thinking that smart machines can do. And curiosity driven learning is also so much more relevant.</p>
<p>Children are motivated by questions and hypotheses, and will search for data based on these questions. Their data will often be incomplete, but the limitation is often what helps humans induce relevant answers.</p>
<p><strong>Problem solving</strong> is one way for children to test their models. Mugan wants us to inspire the natural wonder kids have for things we take for granted.  A hot gender topic these days is whether girls should be discouraged from toys that allegedly promote princess obsessions. Mugan jumps elegantly over this thorny debate, and suggests instead that princesses and their castles may open their iron gates to discussions about political systems like monarchy and arranged marriages. Seeing how problems have been solved differently in other time periods should strike a chord in futurist parents since by giving children a sense of historic progression, we may nurture an appreciation for the idea that also the future will look radically different. <span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span></p>
<p><a ref="magnificPopup" href="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CTXWFS-2MA-presentation.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3038" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/ctxwfs-2ma-presentation/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CTXWFS-2MA-presentation.jpg?fit=1936%2C1452&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1936,1452" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="CTXWFS 2MA presentation" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CTXWFS-2MA-presentation.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CTXWFS-2MA-presentation.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-3038" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CTXWFS-2MA-presentation.jpg?resize=497%2C373&#038;ssl=1" alt="CTXWFS 2MA presentation" width="497" height="373" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CTXWFS-2MA-presentation.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CTXWFS-2MA-presentation.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CTXWFS-2MA-presentation.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CTXWFS-2MA-presentation.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CTXWFS-2MA-presentation.jpg?w=1936&amp;ssl=1 1936w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 497px) 100vw, 497px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>Humans learn by association and drawing analogies to past experiences. Our thought processes don’t typically follow a linear agenda, but works intuitively and makes linkages between ideas that don’t follow common algorithms. I have something called synesthesia, which is a neurological phenomenon where sensory input sets off two unrelated cognitive pathways. So for me when I learned numbers and letters for the first time they literally came color-coded. I could never understand why others didn’t see that A is always blue or S is always white. Synesthesia is different from associations that are based on past experiences. But neither associations nor synthestetic combinations give impetus to machine learning which is limited to pre-planned algorithms and formulas.</p>
<p>Until recently associative learning has been uniquely human and driven more by curiosity than data, which leads to much different results than algorithmic searches. However, we should not be too comfortable thinking that computers suck at pattern recognition and have trouble learning by analogy. By applying hypothesis testing and natural language processing of vast quantities of data, computers are learning to replicate cognitive operations we once had monopoly on and will eventually make inroads into traditionally human enterprises that draw more on creative and visionary abilities. Just ask <a href="http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/ibmwatson/">IBM’s Watson</a> or <a href="http://automatedinsights.com/">Automated Insights</a>.</p>
<p><strong>But when it comes to insights that are based on sensorimotor development, humans still have a literal and figurative leg up.</strong> Mugan explains that “Physical experience is the Foundation of Knowledge” and that “One way to gain deep appreciation for human intelligence is to try to build artificial intelligence embodied in computer architecture”.</p>
<p>Scenarios about the technological singularity or our future robotic overlords are often based on projections of Moore’s Law, the stipulation that various computer capabilities (storage, memory, processing power etc.) doubles every second year. But even if Moore’s Law operates on an exponential scale, it is mainly concerned with a difference of degree rather than of kind. For humans to replace humans they have to pose a change in kind, which has led to Moravec’s Paradox, the idea that for all high-level reasoning we can get out of our yet-to-be overlords, low-level sensorimotor skills still require enormous computational resources.</p>
<p><a ref="magnificPopup" href="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Google-image-search-example.png?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3039" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/google-image-search-example/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Google-image-search-example.png?fit=494%2C619&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="494,619" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="Google image search example" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Google-image-search-example.png?fit=239%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Google-image-search-example.png?fit=494%2C619&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignleft wp-image-3039" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Google-image-search-example.png?resize=349%2C437&#038;ssl=1" alt="Google image search example" width="349" height="437" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Google-image-search-example.png?w=494&amp;ssl=1 494w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Google-image-search-example.png?resize=239%2C300&amp;ssl=1 239w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 349px) 100vw, 349px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>This dilemma is actually a great source of humor. When I upload a picture of my daughter and myself to Google Image search, Google thinks we look like food. And I guess to certain predators we still do, but if Google instead was a species under humans in the food chain, it would go extinct fast. If my survival strategy involved eating little mini-googles for breakfast, Mountain View, CA would quickly become a pretty desolate place because Google doesn&#8217;t have the long evolutionary history that makes it  able to instinctively recognize threats, such as faces.</p>
<p><strong>But our main challenge is not the direct competition with smart machines,</strong> but how these technologies break down barriers to competition <em>between</em> people. A slew of literary endeavors these days deal with the growing wage gap between wage earners and capital owners. <em>The Second Machine Age</em> is the story of these inequities and how they evolved. Authors Brynjolsson and McAfee delineate two new dynamics and distinguish these as “bounty” and “spread”. Bounty refers to the endless opportunities in products and services helped by digital creation and reproduction.  Reproducing a digital product is cost free, but secures a consistent revenue stream for the creator of said product. Think about the music industry for a moment. Jay-Z and his people make an extra dollar for every download of his latest hit while incurring no expenses. So there are no human workers that benefit in his growth model. This is the case for any product or service where consumption have ceased to reflect human labor input. Since the barriers for creating and publishing new content is so low and reproduction cost free we get an economy of what Jeremy Rifkin calls “prosumers”, or the blending of consumers and producers. So we continue to have a lot of creative “prosumers” and can continue to get a lot of good music, but only Jay-Z gets to reap money from it as less successful musicians are pressured to let people stream their music for free. An economy that allows only 0.001 percent to reap most of the proceeds while the rest scavenge for second place in not sustainable in the long run. And it looks like the music industry is becoming the model for any other industry where ubiquitous replication is possible.</p>
<p>The problems discussed in both of these two books got me thinking more deeply about what value creation really is and I wonder if we’ve been too blind to look beyond the white collar/ blue-collar dichotomies. At panel debates and conferences where the authors discuss these topics, you rarely see people in caretaking position who have created value for decades – but outside of the traditional economy, homemakers, caretakers, community volunteers etc. Think of all the work that has been done – or needs to be done – that are not reflected in our current GDP. What about all the “green collar” clean up jobs or jobs to retrofit our homes and infrastructure to prepare for renewable energy consumption and production. Imagine the need for un-robotized “human touch” professions that will provide nursing and care to aging Boomers when they finally realize eternal youth is a false illusion created by opportunistic life coaches and thought leaders who want to sell books.<a ref="magnificPopup" href="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0.png?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="3040" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/destroying-jobs_-chart1x910_0/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0.png?fit=910%2C1170&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="910,1170" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0.png?fit=233%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0.png?fit=796%2C1024&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-3040" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0.png?resize=452%2C582&#038;ssl=1" alt="destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0" width="452" height="582" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0.png?w=910&amp;ssl=1 910w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0.png?resize=233%2C300&amp;ssl=1 233w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0.png?resize=768%2C987&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0.png?resize=796%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 796w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/destroying.jobs_.chart1x910_0.png?resize=600%2C771&amp;ssl=1 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 452px) 100vw, 452px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p>
<p><strong>There is no doubt we are raising a generation that will have to coexist with smart machines.  </strong></p>
<p>Technology helps children become either active producers or passive consumers in the new economy, and it is how we approach it as parents that will make the difference. We can let them play games where the game structure is created for them, or we can teach them basic coding skills and introduce them to games where they control more of the creative process. We can let them mindlessly consume cable sitcoms or we limit their screen time to educational experiences. We can continue to feed children shallow knowledge through rote memorization or we can teach them critical thinking and curiosity driven learning. And finally, as parents or educators we can continue to drill and test children in areas where computers are inevitably better or we can help them build comparative advantages that complement rather than compete with the smart machines.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">But finally we have to realize that this new technological revolution is less about how machines will replace us and more about how we define, distribute and allocate value as a society. Do we want to give musicians a chance even if they can’t compete with Jay Z and Taylor Swift? Let’s reward them for what they produce. Do we want to prevent our nursing homes from being taken over by robotic nurses while humans go unemployed? Let’s make it viable for employers to hire humans instead. Do we want to incentivize cleaning up the waste that is currently killing marine wildlife in our shores and oceans? Let’s move venture capitalists and philanthropists over in those directions. Our robots will only become our overlords if we don’t use them to our advantage instead of curse.  Or to quote Isaac Asimov laws:</span></p>
<ol>
<li><em>A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.</em></li>
<li><em>A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.</em></li>
<li><em>A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.</em></li>
</ol>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/preparing-post-millennials-for-the-second-machine-age/">Preparing Post-Millennials for the Second Machine Age</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com">After The Millennials</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3036</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Homeland Generation and the Future Job Market</title>
		<link>https://afterthemillennials.com/the-homeland-generation-and-the-future-job-market/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anne Boysen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 May 2014 04:35:24 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forecasts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[future]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Generation Z]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Homeland generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[job market]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[singularity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://afterthemillennials.com/?p=3010</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="200" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?w=400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-attachment-id="3011" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/id-100102773/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?fit=400%2C266&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="400,266" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="ID 100102773" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?fit=400%2C266&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" /><p>There is much chatter these days about the next generation of workers and whether they are technologically better equipped to face the changing job market. Many seem to think that by growing up with touch-screens, Siri and social media, the iGeneration will have a leg up in the future workforce compared to their less digitally native predecessors. This...</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/the-homeland-generation-and-the-future-job-market/">The Homeland Generation and the Future Job Market</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com">After The Millennials</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="200" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?w=400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-attachment-id="3011" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/id-100102773/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?fit=400%2C266&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="400,266" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="ID 100102773" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ID-100102773.jpg?fit=400%2C266&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" /><p><strong>There is much chatter these days about the next generation of workers </strong>and whether they are technologically better equipped to face the changing job market. Many seem to think that by growing up with touch-screens, Siri and social media, the iGeneration will have a leg up in the future workforce compared to their less digitally native predecessors. This begs the question, does experience <em>using</em> a type of technology guarantee aptitude in <em>manipulating</em> or <em>controlling</em> this same technology? In <a title="Gen Z – Or the Revenge of the Code" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/2013/09/24/generation-homelander/">Gen Z &#8211; Or the Revenge Of the Code</a> I benevolently lampooned younger generations&#8217; lack of recollections with old, grumpy grandpa MS-DOS and his antics that you so often had to deal with to get your software to work. We had to know the nuts and bolts of command language in a format that was not always very user friendly. Sure, your 11-year old niece might be a budding movie producer with audience experience in the form of six-digit YouTube viewers, but how much does she know about the video encoding that happens behind the scenes of her zebra printed bedroom? Does she have to? Maybe not. But on the macro level we might be facing some obstacles if the rising wired generation only expresses a lackluster <a href="http://blog.eonetwork.org/2014/05/preparing-for-generation-z-employees/#ixzz31SsqQ9Yj">drive to learn how to fix and evolve our digital environment</a>. They might simply not be savvy enough to fill future jobs in IT and tech.</p>
<blockquote><p>And in our tech saturated environment that might be a very inconvenient truth.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>We are at the dawn of</strong> (or deeply immersed in) a new technoeconomic paradigm that is starting to make sweeping inroads into the labor force. In the medium term future the consequences of falling out with tech will be much more daunting than the curse of a low Klout score or a selfie post without &#8216;likes&#8217;. After replacing our muscles in manufacturing jobs, which contributed to wage stagnation in industrialized countries over the last few decades &#8211; automation is now starting to replace our brains in traditional white collar sector jobs as well. Hence, in a few years IT could co<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-3012 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/binarybaby.jpg?resize=300%2C225&#038;ssl=1" alt="binarybaby" width="300" height="225" data-recalc-dims="1" />mpletely alter or eliminate the middle class job market as we know it.</p>
<p><strong>I will write more about these changes and what it means for Generation Z or Homeland generation&#8217;s future</strong> in the weeks ahead, so stay tuned. We are starting to see more literature on this topic and I am drawing on published and unpublished insights from leading computer scientists, economists, futurists and stakeholders who have rich perspectives on these provocative issues. Nobody will be able to predict the exact outcome of this, but in preparing for the future workforce we will need good <a title="Strategic Foresight" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/strategic-foresight/">generational foresight</a> and some mental remodeling. Because as much as we can learn from history, the fourth industrial revolution will be surprisingly different from the previous ones.</p>
<p><em>Images: <a style="color: #3db2d5;" href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2042">phanlop88</a><span style="color: #666666;"> @ FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Anne Boysen</span></em></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/the-homeland-generation-and-the-future-job-market/">The Homeland Generation and the Future Job Market</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com">After The Millennials</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">3010</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Your child in year 2100. Forecasts from the world&#8217;s leading futurists.</title>
		<link>https://afterthemillennials.com/your-child-in-year-2100-forecasts-from-the-worlds-top-ranking-futurists/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anne Boysen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Aug 2012 22:47:46 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[augmented reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biotech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cycles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forecasts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[future]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Generation Z]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[generations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Homeland generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Silents]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[singularity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transhumanism]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.afterthemillennials.com/?p=997</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>For a child born today, what will the world look like in 2100? This is the topic of a special section of The Futurist, September- October issue. Via scenarios and forecasts from some of the leading expert within foresight, we get a glimpse into what it will mean to be 88 at the dawn of...</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/your-child-in-year-2100-forecasts-from-the-worlds-top-ranking-futurists/">Your child in year 2100. Forecasts from the world&#8217;s leading futurists.</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com">After The Millennials</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a ref="magnificPopup" href="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/woman-decompose.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="1004" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/woman-decompose/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/woman-decompose.jpg?fit=444%2C615&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="444,615" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="woman decompose" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/woman-decompose.jpg?fit=217%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/woman-decompose.jpg?fit=444%2C615&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1004" title="woman decompose" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/woman-decompose.jpg?resize=311%2C431&#038;ssl=1" alt="" width="311" height="431" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/woman-decompose.jpg?w=444&amp;ssl=1 444w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/woman-decompose.jpg?resize=217%2C300&amp;ssl=1 217w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 311px) 100vw, 311px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>For a child born today, what will the world look like in 2100? This is the topic of a special section of <a href="http://www.wfs.org/futurist/september-october-2012-vol-46-no-5/22nd-century-first-light">The Futurist, September- October issue</a>. Via scenarios and forecasts from some of the leading expert within foresight, we get a glimpse into what it will mean to be 88 at the dawn of the next century.  This is the future of the Homeland generation. Millennials will be 96 to 120 if they are alive and some of them will. Some scenarios make me infer that some Generation X members are still with us as &#8220;post-centenarians&#8221;. Others take the the transhumanist/singulitarian view that we have passed the point where we will <a title="The immorality of immortality when talking with children" href="http://www.afterthemillennials.com/2011/04/14/104/">be able to live forever.</a></p>
<p>The trends and emerging issues covered range from energy, climate changes, economic systems, space travel, scientific breakthroughs &#8211; particularly in biology and computing – and of course, aging.</p>
<p>Extreme longevity seems to show up in many of the narratives, reflecting long anticipated breakthroughs in medicine, computing and biotechnology. Resource depletion combined with resource scarcity, governmental issues and dwelling patterns are other issues.</p>
<p>The “mood” of these forecasts, or the level of pessimism vs. optimism, seems to be in line with most futurist projections: If and when we can manage to reform ourselves before we totally ruin the planet, it’s going to worse only until it gets better. Similar to cycle theories like the <a title="Patterns of Change" href="http://www.afterthemillennials.com/the-patterns-of-change/">Kondratiev long waves or Strauss and Howe’s generational predictions</a>, we will most likely go through a period of crisis &#8211; a period we have already entered &#8211; before we enter a new “high period”.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="1005" data-permalink="https://afterthemillennials.com/science-laboratory-work/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/science-laboratory-work.jpg?fit=1947%2C2700&amp;ssl=1" data-orig-size="1947,2700" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="science-laboratory-work" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/science-laboratory-work.jpg?fit=216%2C300&amp;ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/science-laboratory-work.jpg?fit=738%2C1024&amp;ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright size-full wp-image-1005" title="science-laboratory-work" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/science-laboratory-work.jpg?resize=270%2C373&#038;ssl=1" alt="" width="270" height="373" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/science-laboratory-work.jpg?w=1947&amp;ssl=1 1947w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/science-laboratory-work.jpg?resize=768%2C1065&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/science-laboratory-work.jpg?resize=600%2C832&amp;ssl=1 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.techcast.org/">Dr. William Halal and Laura B Huhn from TechCast</a> believe a new high tech era will occur around 2020. This view is similar to that of Olli Hietanen and Marko Ahvenainen, <a href="http://www.tse.fi/EN/units/specialunits/ffrc/Pages/default.aspx">Finland Futures Research Centre</a>, who forecast a <a href="http://www.kondratieff.net/11.html">Sixth Kondratieff wave</a> (2010 – 2050) based on new innovation and technologies within biotechnology. The Sixth wave differs from the Fifth because of the increasingly rising prices on raw materials and energy. The new paradigm in innovation and production is likely to be within molecular, or synthetic, biology, which will allow us to grow and change structures from raw biological materials. Just think about all the experiments happening with stem cells and organ scaffolding in the labs today! Not to mention biological 3-D printing. Tissue engineering will enable us to grow new organs and artificial meats, even biodegradable polymers to be used in manufacturing. These prospects might be frightening to some, conjuring up 19<sup>th</sup> and 20<sup>th</sup> century sci-fi dystopias like Frankenstein and Brave New World. But for most futurists, the unsustainable alternative of status quo is often much scarier!<span id="more-997"></span></p>
<p>Since the theme revolves around the future perspective of a child born today, the topic of aging recurs frequently in the scenarios and forecasts. By today’s standard 88 is a fairly old age and we don’t consider there to be much life changes after this age. But at the beginning of the next century the age of 88 might only bring an occasional midlife crisis. Such life expectancy is what VP of Rehab and Wellness at Encore Healthcare, Marta Keane project for the child whose newborn picture is uploaded to Facebook just at this moment. Due to aforementioned progress in regenerative medicine, biological deterioration in old age can be overcome. And through access to ubiquitous customized treatment and diagnosis systems via the outfittings of their future “smart homes”, patients can monitor much of their own health at home. This scenario helps overcome the anticipated shortcomings of  physician availabilities many places. See my <a title="When will we consult our phones before the doctor?" href="http://www.afterthemillennials.com/2011/06/07/the-doctor-in-your-phone/">When will we consult our phones before the doctor</a>? from last year. Since people live longer, family and marriage life will also change over a person’s life span. “Till death do us apart” may become “Till we decide to move on”.</p>
<p>Jouni J. Sakijarvi sums this future up with the descriptive title <em>Paradise Found: No Aging, No Pensions.</em> This actually makes me realize: none of these futurists have mentioned the immediate demographic challenges facing industrial countries in the very near future. None of the scenarios go to depths at explaining exactly when and how we enter this bright new future. When do we go from an elder boom, which by conventional expectations will depend largely on the current unsustainable system, to the high-tech augmented, synthesized, and biomanipulated future where health and independence triumph over traditional health limitations? How do we implement new technologies, systems etc. in our old social structures?</p>
<p>There are many commonalities in these forecasts, revealing that futurists tend to think alike. But in some areas I see diverging predictions. One relates to the transhumanist idea that homo sapiens will eventually reach a point where they can live forever. Other are less radical. But despite disagrements whether or not there is a hard-wired limit in the human organism most believe lifespan will continue to increase.</p>
<p>Energy seems to be area portraying most divergent futures &#8211; and perhaps indicating a divergence among futurists? <a href="http://berkeley.academia.edu/OzzieZehner/">Berkley professor Ozzie Zehner</a> embeds his forecasts in a sober, more traditional epistemology, mentioning mostly already known technologies and incremental steps towards energy prosperity with various set backs along the say. Other scenarios paint more rosy pictures where we capture most of our energy needs from sun, fusion and various restructuring at the cellular/nano level.</p>
<p><a ref="magnificPopup" href="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/vegetable-girl.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1006" title="vegetable-girl" src="https://i0.wp.com/afterthemillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/vegetable-girl.jpg?resize=246%2C369&#038;ssl=1" alt="" width="246" height="369" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>All in all these scenarios and forecasts are inspiring reading and provide some hope that if humanity can get through some initial bottlenecks, a pretty good life is waiting for us on the other side of the climatic and economic squeeze that threaten our world systems at the moment. It’s all about priorities, and if we really do want to create a better future for our children, the blue print for how to do it is already here.</p>
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<p>Images: <a style="color: #3db2d5;" href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2664">Stuart Miles</a>, freedigitalphotos.net, <a href="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=15046&amp;picture=vegetable-girl">Vegetable Girl</a> by Vera Kratochvil<br />
<a href="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=4186&amp;picture=decompose">Decompose</a> by zaldy icaonapo</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/your-child-in-year-2100-forecasts-from-the-worlds-top-ranking-futurists/">Your child in year 2100. Forecasts from the world&#8217;s leading futurists.</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com">After The Millennials</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">997</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Future-tinted eye wear: Project Glass</title>
		<link>https://afterthemillennials.com/future-tinted-eye-wear-project-glass/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anne Boysen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:40:58 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[augmented reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Generation Z]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Homeland generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[immersive technologies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Millennials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Silents]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[singularity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transhumanism]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.afterthemillennials.com/?p=690</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Although full Singularity may still be a while away, at least we have reasons to believe that augmented reality is finally getting nearer. The biggest optimists believe Project Glass will have Google Glasses available for use by the end of this year, while others display a more sober outlook by citing legal obstacles and people&#8217;s general disgust with...</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/future-tinted-eye-wear-project-glass/">Future-tinted eye wear: Project Glass</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com">After The Millennials</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="1500" height="844" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9c6W4CCU9M4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe><br />
Although full <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity">Singularity </a>may still be a while away, at least we have reasons to believe that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality">augmented reality</a> is finally getting nearer. The biggest optimists believe <a href="https://plus.google.com/111626127367496192147/posts">Project Glass</a> will have Google Glasses available for use by the <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/250453/google_augmented_reality_glasses_expected_by_years_end.html">end of this year</a>, while others display a more sober outlook by citing legal obstacles and people&#8217;s general disgust with privacy invading technology.</p>
<p>Google glasses will run on an android platform and is basically the technology of superimposing what&#8217;s known as a head&#8217;s up display (HUD) over your visual field. Not much different than your smart phone, only that you can integrate cyber and real world while on the go.</p>
<p>But for futurists and gadget-geeks, this is right up there with flying cars and emotional robots.</p>
<p>So what creeps you out the most? Potential stalkers who today <a href="http://www.cultofmac.com/157641/this-creepy-app-isnt-just-stalking-women-without-their-knowledge-its-a-wake-up-call-about-facebook-privacy/?utm_campaign=spread-us%3Fref%3Dlinkedin">peak into their phone to gather data about you</a> or potential stalkers who tomorrow may look you straight in your face while undressing your online identity?</p>
<p>And what&#8217;s in establishing eye-contact with somebody when the other person&#8217;s retina is juggling two worlds at the same time? &#8220;Hey there! Are you looking at me, or some data about me, or are you just checking the stock quotes while I happen to be in the background?&#8221;</p>
<p>We are all familiar with stereotypical Millennials steeped in text conversation with one another without as much as speaking a word or lifting an eye brow. Is Google Glasses a way to bring social skills back? Could one argue that by meshing the real world with the cyber world we&#8217;ve become so hooked on, more people might meander back to reality carrying their only digital luggage in the form of wearable, &#8220;reality friendly&#8221; technology?</p>
<p><em>Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/amish_shah/4233547069/">Amish Shah, Flickr</a></em></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/future-tinted-eye-wear-project-glass/">Future-tinted eye wear: Project Glass</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com">After The Millennials</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">690</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>The immorality of immortality when talking with children</title>
		<link>https://afterthemillennials.com/104/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anne Boysen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:07:03 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[future]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[generations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Homeland generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Silents]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[singularity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transhumanism]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.afterthemillennials.com/?p=104</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Institute for Emerging Ethics and Technologies are discussing these days the appropriateness of discussing transhumanism with children, or more precisely: Should we tell them that they have a plausible chance of living forever? I remember the first time my oldest daughter asked me if I will ever die. Knowing that life extending technologies probably will...</p>
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]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://ieet.org/">Institute for Emerging Ethics and Technologies</a> are discussing these days the appropriateness of <a href="http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/transhumanism_for_children">discussing transhumanism with children,</a> or more precisely: Should we tell them that they have a plausible chance of <a href="http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/pellissier20110411">living forever</a>?</p>
<p>I remember the first time my oldest daughter asked me if I will ever die. Knowing that life extending technologies probably will have the capability of offering much longer, healthier lives than today, I assured that her I probably will be able to stick around for a pretty long time. But I didn’t mention anything about immortality.</p>
<p>Ever since this conversation, singularity and transhumanist scenarios have been riveting more people and are even starting to appear in mainstream <span id="more-104"></span>media, shaking off at least some of it’s crackpot reputation. Although still not even close to being embraced by public school curricula, the idea that some of us might go on to live forever is slowly winning ground as a possibility that at least should be considered in certain types of long term planning.</p>
<p>So when the day comes that my two younger children ask if mommy&#8217;s destiny is similar that of the mouse we berried in the back yard, will I give them an even more reassuring answer? No. And this time around I’m not even sure if I will try to estimate my own longevity. And it is not because I think age related immortality is technically unfeasible, but &#8211;</p>
<ol>
<li>because I could be setting my kids up for a huge disappointment. That is, I probably <em>would</em> be setting them up for a huge disappointment. Some atheists might argue that religious people have promised their children eternal life in the great beyond for ages, but there is an important distinction. Religious myths about an afterlife have the positive effect of reducing ones fear of death and of comforting people that their deceased loved ones are well taken care of. It even provides some extrinsic awards for good behavior here on earth. And if it all turns out to be a mass illusion, even the most religiously convinced person will never know that they didn’t go where they thought they would go because – well – they are no longer capable of knowing that they didn&#8217;t get there. Illusions about scientific immortality on the other hand could add a pretty heavy psychological load when a person needs it the least, namely while in the process of dying. This is especially true when life extending technologies exist, but are not available to every person who desperately pleads for it on their death bed.</li>
<li>Which brings me to the second point. Why should we equate the law of accelerating returns in computer technology with accelerating returns for mankind? Why do we still believe that just because something is technologically possible it will suddenly cause a watershed of changes? Granted, with a faster innovation cycle it is reasonable to expect a decrease in time between invention and ubiquity. But this doesn&#8217;t mean it will become available to everybody. Even technologies that have been around for centuries are still beaming with their gaping absences in great parts of the world. I mean &#8211; Cholera? And Diphtheria? In 2011? Where are the sanitation systems that could prevent these diseases and the simple treatment that can cure them? Not exactly rocket science, but a very good example that technology is not alway applied for those who need it the most. Of course, modern technologies have prolific impacts in developing countries too, such as social media helping to bring about regime changes. It can even help underprivileged areas &#8216;leap frog&#8217; and thus create virtuous cycles of high-tech growth without getting caught up in obsolete technologies. But I’m just not so sure that the vast majority of people are going to get access to technologies that keep their physical bodies or brains around forever at the peak of global population growth. I just don’t think most of us will be considered that indispensable.</li>
</ol>
<p>No matter whether you side with the transhumanists or the luddites, we need to be prepared for these difficult discussions with our children. Religious people already have the answer as do diehard atheists. Transhumanist theories add a new dimension to that continuum, a dimention that we as grown ups at least should have contemplated beforehand.</p>
<p>What do you think? Here’s a <a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/4910893/?view=results">poll</a>. I couldn’t it answer myself, as I didn’t agree with any of the alternatives.</p>
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<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com/104/">The immorality of immortality when talking with children</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://afterthemillennials.com">After The Millennials</a>.</p>
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