What does our future look like when viewed through the lens of time and space?

Right now, at 2:51 p.m. on December 1, 2019, people all over the world are living in their own respective spaces. Some live in wealthy countries, while others live in poor ones. Even within the same wealthy country, some live in luxury while others live in slums; and even within the same poor country, some live better than most wealthy people in developed nations, while others live as the poorest of the poor.

The current Fourth Industrial Revolution won’t affect every country or every person in exactly the same way. It will still reshape lives in different ways: those leading the new era—both individuals and nations—know the direction they’re heading, while the rest find their lives changing within that sphere of influence without fully understanding why.

For example, the Maasai people in Tanzania still (as of December 1, 2019) live in tribes, much like in primitive times. In Africa, electricity is limited, and people still carry paper documents instead of USB drives. In the Congo, militias in the jungle still hunt gorillas for food due to civil war. South America is no different: in Brazil, farmers are still setting the rainforest on fire to create farmland for cattle and soybeans, a method that dates back to the agricultural age and is still being used in 2019.

Underdeveloped countries experience change just like developed countries. For example, poor nations are within the sphere of influence of mobile phones. When I was on the Arusha Safari in 2006, I made an international call while watching lions. In Bangladesh, mobile phone usage was also high. What this means is that in developing countries, they skipped the spread of landline phones and moved straight to mobile phones. Furthermore, in Africa, the proliferation of mobile phones, supported by nonprofit organizations, has spurred the growth of online classes.

Another example is online delivery. Since the spread of landline phones and computers was skipped, and mobile phones expanded directly, this has also boosted online shopping. In Africa—for example, in Senegal—online delivery services founded by French entrepreneurs are currently booming. Of course, the system doesn’t run as smoothly as it does here (due to issues like a lack of addresses and high rates of theft), but the market is growing significantly in its own way. The company's stock price has also risen significantly. So, in developing countries, it’s common to skip certain stages of development. Or different stages of development can coexist.

And the same is true even within a single country. For example, in the United States—the birthplace of the innovation industry—middle- and upper-class children are currently immersed in STEM studies, but at our school, the “STEM” slogan is merely painted on the wall; there are no actual programs. In any case, there will always be those who lead the way, while the rest will just say, “Oh, there are a lot of self-driving cars; this newly released phone actually talks to me; oh, there’s a robot that acts like a friend… and so on.”

So far, we’ve discussed the changes in different spaces, but in terms of time, 2019 is different not just from 100 years ago, but even from 30 years ago. In fact, isn’t it the same for us in our 50s? We’re enjoying the benefits of a new civilization that didn’t exist when we were children, yet we don’t really know who developed it or how. Still, we’re all living amid these changes.

The changes in time and space will affect individuals with varying intensity from country to country and even within the same country, and also time to time, but one thing is certain: all of our lives will change.

12/02/2019 by Dr. Lan Joo