Martin Wezowski, Chief Designer and Futurist at SAP Innovation Center Networks, goes against the pessimists, saying that change is a driving force for progress: “We’re here thanks to change, not in spite of it.”
Where does our image of the future actually come from? Who is shaping the visions and ideas of our future lifestyles? Scientists? Programmers? Futurists? Maybe.
But, if we’re being honest, Hollywood and its films have had the biggest influence. The fact that these films deliberately appeal to our emotions with terrifying tales of adventure is critical. A popular theme is robots who want to take control and enslave humanity – no wonder then, that so many people are afraid of the future.
One person who is standing up against this and backing optimism is Martin Wezowski, Chief Designer and Futurist at SAP Innovation Center Networks. Since Hollywood is already framing the perfect vision of horror, we should concentrate on “performing the other part of this task – that is, giving people a utopia.”
He sees little reason for fear and also thinks that certain solutions, such as a universal basic income, are not necessary. “I think that we, as people, will – statistically and historically speaking, at least – always come up with other things if our day-to-day tasks are taken over through automation. Homo sapiens are clearly very curious beings. If we ever get stuck with a status quo we always find something new, create new works of art, listen to new music, talk about new issues, devise new technologies, and develop new business models in order to keep up with the competition. “We never stop.”
What do you think?
Once artificial intelligence takes over routine tasks, will we use the time it frees up sensibly or suffer because jobs and money will be lost?
