A bigger village

The internet is reinventing the real world. Or rather the virtual world is replicating the real world, one step at a time. It took thousands of years to get to the point where we are today, of course, but think of all the real world things we've invented: fire, tools, wheels, farming, turbines, steam engines, electricity, cars, traffic lights, trains, airplanes, buildings, and on and on and on until the computer. When the computer was invented, we also started tinkering with the virtual world. In the virtual world, we're now seeing duplicates of what we experience in real life, and it all moves so much quicker because of its ability to make our connections faster. Those watching this trend can easily identify new business opportunities; we're simply trying to use the internet to create alternate realities of what we experience in real life (through games, AR, VR), or to use the internet to rethink something that's been invented already, most obviously through the sharing economy (think of Uber, Lyft, AirBnB, TaskRabbit and CARMAnation), but also most smart home items; we're trying to automate everything. On a small scale, this idea is fun. On a large scale, it's taking jobs away from people, all over the world. I saw a robot arm the other day that can cook full meals in the kitchen, as a sous-chef and another that can replace a pharmacy technician; not to mention the truckers who may someday get displaced due to automated trucks. 

While there are many benefits to having universal access to the internet, we are now inundated with information. It's hard to sort through it all. We have drifted into an era where facts are really difficult to identify for some people; I am sometimes confused with the confidence displayed by the people who have heard a different truth than I.

Consider though, we've always had fake news and village idiots (think of the enquirer and prophets standing on soapboxes in public squares and depictions of drunks wandering in and out of towns), but what makes it more detrimental is that we have not yet learned how to deal with the assault of information at this scale, or through this medium. We've got to figure out how to overcome this very vocal minority, but there's hope. We've done it before, peacefully and without tearing down our fellow citizens. In rare, but more frequent occasion, we have managed to include the conspiracy theorists, the doomsday preacher, and the naysayer in society with out exiling them (though we may roll our eyes or ridicule them). In the past, we've also succumbed to fear, and scapegoating. Not our best moments. Meanwhile, in general, we've managed to stay together, over time. The internet takes our small village and makes it global. 

In some ways, the "global village" is exactly what's on the horizon. Good people can find good people all over the world and will connect and unite. But, we're adjusting to whether or not we want to have a global identity. If so, bringing hundreds of peoples to a common understanding of acceptable practices, and peace is going to be very difficult. 

Couple that with the intense resource constraints on our planet, and the increased impacts of climate change, and you can see why it would be important to have diplomatic measures in place, and a general respect for the current world order. Granted, the current world order is set up for a very wealthy few to succeed, while the rest of us struggle, and in some cases truly suffer. It's not ideal, but it does allow for respectful conversation to take place and preserves more precious lives. Fortunately, many of the wealthy are very magnanimous and will be donating their wealth away, but this vocal minority - the voice of fear, hate and oppression - have managed to scare their way into power. They are afraid of the global village. 

I want to say we've figured out how to prevent this group from taking over, but we have not. A wave of populism is sweeping the world. Things are changing too fast for most people, thanks in part to technology, and scapegoating feels safer than the other options. The sad thing is, we really don't have time to go through the witch hunt phase that ultimately results in acceptance of others, and so I wonder if we can somehow fast track our way back. Let's invest in listening. Let's invest in finding those other kind souls out there that veer towards the goodness, and then let's band together, win some elections, and get ourselves back on track. But we have to remember, light cajoling, and genuine acceptance of our fellow citizens is the fastest way to achieving a more equal future.