BY: EDWIN DE LEON
In a rapidly changing world, the dictum: ” Be willing to walk away from things that had succeeded in the past” is more valid than ever before. Unfortunately, many things and practices continue to find a following even when it longer makes sense. The jeepney is one of those symbols of our misplaced tenacity. Even in its heyday, it was a most inferior mode of transport; most inefficient, most polluting, most unsafe, and uncomfortable, to name a few. Did you ever wonder why no other country adopted it?
But we can’t let go of things easily. Without the internet, the diffusion of new ideas would have taken longer, just as superstitions continue to stick to our subconscious. Hanging the “Last Supper” in a dining room endures! Each of us has witnessed or participated in certain obsolete, irrelevant, or meaningless practices but persists in doing it. A large cultural footprint does not fully explain our attachment to obsolescence.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality is the antithesis of a progressive mindset.
This propensity is the enemy of relevance. Antiquated worldviews have the potential to overwhelm one’s perspective and objectivity. Allowing space for new, whether physically, sociologically, or spiritually is the way forward. It is said that “forgetting” is an evolutionary adaptation that helps our brains to make room for a new school of thought.
“The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get the old one out. Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind, and creativity will instantly fill it.”
Dee Hock
In the six schools (so far ) where we have made book donations, it is not uncommon to see shelves full of books. But taking a closer look, you begin to realize that, for the most part, the books are timeworn and obsolete. Among them are encyclopedias and ” books of knowledge”; their very nature makes them the first to become outdated. Besides the physical lack of shelving for new books, people visiting a library gets the wrong impression that it is “well-stocked.” In the absence of the internet ( there are still many schools in the Phil. without one ), the children are deprived of relevant materials. Even with access through the internet, I would argue that there is a better and alluring personal connection with a book.
PROLIFERATION OF MISINFORMATION AND OUTRIGHT DECEIT
COVID is one more subject where misinformation abounds. Despite the widespread and clear messaging from the world’s health agencies, there is plenty of contradictory information from the social media platforms. Seniors, in particular, are forgetting that information is no longer disseminated the old way ( and arguably largely accurate ) from the conventional news sources of the major networks and print media.
Today, every one of us has the potential to be a source for millions. From Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Spotify ( Joe Rogan’s podcast, for instance), we receive a constant barrage of questionable info and disinformation posted by bots, paid bloggers, and gossipmongers. Often, there is a hidden agenda behind these postings. For example, the recent “Freedom Convoy” in Canada highlights the power of disinformation and conspiracy theories popularized by Donald Trump. It is disheartening to listen to these protestor’s utter ignorance and tactics, one that has quickly spread to the U.S. and New Zealand and may have gone further but for the war in Ukraine. The disinformation by Russia ( and other players ) is a major component of this ongoing conflict.
When people, motivated by politics or strong biases, pass on questionable dispatches to anybody and everybody, we become unwitting instruments of trolls and paid hacks.
Conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine sentiments have been propagated this way. How much anti-vaccine was there during the Polio epidemic? The National Inquirer and other tabloids used to be the only sources of fake news; social media changed everything. For every well-informed one, there are nine who are not. Unfortunately, many of them are letting loose their 2 cents worth without verification or corroboration.
Seniors have become targets of people up to no good to our peril. Investment scams, Nigerian bank frauds, phone scams lead the cases. Then there are identity thefts, phishing, and travel scams. Romantic engagements scams target the vulnerable soft-hearted seniors craving for relevance. We all have our weak moments, but victimization results from our failure to relate to things in today’s context. Opinions become more believable and authentic because our brains were still in tune when the world was less complicated and people more trustworthy. If you view the world the way you did, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
THE WIDENING GENERATION GAP
Retired at 60, with 30 more years of living? Sounds familiar? How do you stay on the leading edge? We are not Betty White or Clint Eastwood. Relating culturally or sociologically could be a real challenge to seniors. We are walking non–sequiturs. I am astonished at how many retirees lose touch and pass a point of view that is out of touch, picked up from their watering holes,
social media, or gossip.
You may have noticed how we ( the “Boomer” generation ) have steadily become more and more distant with every succeeding period. As a result, our generational gap with our grandchildren is most certainly much further than with our grandparents. How do you know that? If you are talking to them and you are met by silence, that’s one indication; a better clue is when your granddaughter rolls her eyes when you play Neil Sedaka.
When everybody seems to be raving about Lauren Spencer Smith, I have to confess that I don’t keep my music current. I thought Dr. Dre was a physician! But, after watching the halftime show in this years’ Superbowl, I have concluded that I don’t give a flying leap if I ever get current musically! Seriously! The very best of my generation is virtually unknown to my children, and I play it with technology just a step ahead of “Walkman.” So, I say, “hooray!”
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
George Bernard Shaw
Music is probably a more visible contemporary divide, more so than fashion. Politics, religion, and gender issues are now front and centre after eons of lethargy. What was once thought to be unequivocal has now been confined to the deepest recesses of religious zealots. The most sacred cows are threatened as never before. It’s exhausting and trite to keep harping on the role of technology and social media as precursors. We have to adapt.
It is often said that zeroing in on a single skill for the 21st century is no longer a guarantee of success. The blinding speed our world changes makes us more vulnerable to irrelevancy in short order. Preparing for a career choice and training for something that may no longer be in demand by the time you finish has become a problem. So how do you prepare yourself for a future unknown? How do you stay sharp and connected?
We become current by putting ourselves in the shoes of the present day. Seeking fresh perspective by being proactive and surrounding yourself with people with different capabilities and viewpoints. Relevance means constantly reinventing yourself.
A liberal arts education is making a comeback. Critical thinking and communication skills, self-expression, and developing a passion for lifelong learning are the kinds of preps that remain relevant even as machines and robots take the bulk of the jobs that we do now. For example, the U.S. lost 5.6 M manufacturing jobs from 2000 to 2010. 85 % of the losses were due to automation. Humans still have many job positions because we are still cheaper than robots to operate in some sectors. And some require the empathy of the human touch. But now and beyond, the jobs horizon will see significant upheavals as even the human domain is taken over by technology.
IS THE HUMAN RACE DOOMED TO IRRELEVANCE?
We face a future where technology is out of human control and is irreversible. Machines and computers transcend human capability. Programs so advanced that only Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is capable of reprogramming them. It is called a technological “Singularity.”
This term came to our consciousness when scientist Vernor Vinge wrote in 1993: ” Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will end”.
In 2005, Ray Kurzweil, the futurist author of “The Singularity is Near,” predicted that by 2045, A.I. would surpass human intelligence. At which point, A.I. would have already exceeded our emotional intelligence in 2029.
Where are we today in 2022? While aware of the exponential growth of technology, the average person does not feel overwhelmed to the point of losing control. Probably not widespread, but we experience troubling hints as we navigate our day-to-day lives. As most seniors know, it sure feels like we are being left behind if we are not on the leading edge of technology. Just keeping up with the apps is enough to make your head spin. The high-skill jobs ( the ones we don’t see ) have mostly been lost. We are now losing medium-skill jobs; the low-skill ones will be next. ( already, some Dim-Sums are being served by robots.).
It seems logical that a super-intelligent entity will keep creating a better version of itself. For example, the “Deep Blue,” a chess-playing A.I. ( 200 million chess positions per second) developed by IBM, now beat every human Grandmaster since it beat Gary Kasparov in 1997. The U.K.-based DeepMind, a cutting-edge A.I. company, owned by Alphabet (Google), is winning every computer game in existence. Elon Musk, who originally owned DeepMind, says that A.I. will be vastly smarter than humans, and when it does, ” we should all be scared because humanity’s very existence is at stake.”
Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), and Tesla are deeply invested in A.I. RHO ( Rate of Human Obsolescence ) will double like “Moore”s Law” ( states that the “speed and capability of computers can be expected to double every two years” )
Even the most mundane human function will eventually be a purview of A.I. At that point, humans will be irrelevant and conceivably the beginning of the end of the human species as we know it. We are on the cusp of a new world order.
“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race….It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.”
— Stephen Hawking told the BBC
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