Looking Into the Future

I got back from the World Future Society conference a week ago, and my mind is still spinning!  For me, attending this conference meant stretching beyond my comfort zone, and I’m glad I did.  The presentations and topics brought up at the conference were fascinating.

One of the themes that emerged from several presentations: robotics and 3D printing will reduce the need for people to work.  This brought up several questions and concerns:

  • If there’s less need for work (i.e., fewer jobs), how will most people make a living?
  • Will they even need to make a living, or will it be possible for everyone to have food and basic necessities for free?
  • And if that’s the case, what will people do with all their free time?

The big question regarding this and many of the other forecasts is: how do we get from here to there?  For example, will we arrive at a way for everyone to be provided for easily, or will there be mass rioting in the streets?  For most future predictions, there are both utopian and dystopian versions of how to get there.

Speaking of utopian vs. dystopian, my favorite presentation was by Brian David Johnson, who works as a futurist at Intel, but is also working on a personal project about the future of the American Dream.  He said that “science and technology have progressed to the point where what we build is only constrained by the limits of our own imaginations.”  So if we can have a vision for the future, then the rest is all just engineering.  I found the idea that the future can be as positive or as negative as we envision it to be very inspiring.  But then, Johnson and I have something in common: we’re both optimists!

The future predictions made me feel even more strongly about the importance of understanding human emotions and I have added to my presentation about how understanding customer emotions can increase company profits.  I’d be happy to give the presentation – just give me a call at 818-752-7210 or email info at bureauwest.com.