Recollecting the Human

Revolutions are by nature disruptive. We are at the beginning of what Klaus Schwab, founder and director of the World Economic Forum, is calling the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The first industrial revolution occurred in 1784 with the invention and implementation of the steam engine. Mechanical developments from this era moved us into a second with electricity, the division of labor and the innovation of mass production. The third industrial revolution began in 1969 with the growth of electronics, computation, and automated production. This fourth wave builds on these technologies and is characterized by “artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage, and quantum computing” (Prisecaru, “The Challenges of Industry 4.0”) – a list that evokes flashbacks from the aisles of the 2018 SXSW Trade Show.

Each of these revolutions imagined a better future for humanity and these visions paid out: Steam engines, mass production, electricity, automation, the Internet, robotics and AI have enhanced human existence on a mass scale. However, what these revolutions gave, they also took away. Mechanization and mass production created urban centers that uprooted people and fractured traditional agrarian community and family structures. The increasing pace of industry created inhumane working conditions that still continue despite extreme political pressure. Electronic computation and the Internet created supra-human efficiencies by boiling everything down to ones and zeroes, radically disrupting people’s professions and their lives. Robotic automation quickly outpaced human productivity, leaving people searching for other work to do.

So as we begin the Fourth Industrial Revolution, whose pace moves forward at blinding speed, the important word that resounded throughout SXSW Interactive 2018 was the importance – in every dimension addressed by the conference – of recollecting the human.

• For engineers and software developers this means continuing the creative work of innovation but always asking the questions, (a) “How does what we are doing enhance human thriving?” And (b), “How does what we are designing cohere in the context of human life?”
• For the tech industry, the implementation of new platforms, processes, and products must consider the impact of disruption. How will the newly unemployed be repurposed toward continued productive service in the future economy?
• For advertisers and marketers, recollecting the human means connecting authentically and engaging the stories of genuine persons while discovering ways to contribute substantially to the well-being of individuals and communities.
• For the public sector, the task is to re-embrace the difficult yet politically-reorienting task of genuine representation in response to the backlash recently experienced in the U.S., England, Italy, Germany, and other places where unrest may foment.
• For leaders of all stripes and at all levels, this means paying careful attention to resolve gender and racial inequities that are entrenched in our organizations and institutions.
• For people who deploy and enjoy social networks, recollecting the human means (a) leveraging technologies and enforcing more developed policies to encourage civil discourse and disallow hate speech in all of its forms and (b) developing improved strategies to encourage personal engagement within trusted structures that manage personal data.
• For journalists and those in the news industry, this means doubling down on classic journalistic practices of reporting what is discovered through vetted facts, thoroughly informed inquiry, and precise, reasonable, carefully-interpreted writing. Humans need confidence that what they understand is true and they need to experience a reasonable amount of coherence between their story and the experiences of others. Connecting readers and viewers with human stories (true, authentic stories) that affirm their humanity in its grandeur and brokenness will reinvest confidence in the integrity of journalism and public storytellers.
• For the sake of our own personal productivity, take into consideration the depths of our humanity as we create: Take more breaks, operate within our limitations, be more collaborative, understand our shared responsibilities, admit and allow for imperfections, lean into relationships and don’t just problems solve, but embrace the artistic.

It is apparent that the rush of technologies that ushered in this fourth wave hit with such force that it obliterated people. Psychologists and sociologists have indicated for some time that socialized technologies have evolved faster than studies could done to adequately measure their implications for individuals and society. Innovations in software and hardware moved so quickly that industries that were deeply entrenched in the culture and the jobs they supported were gone in less than a decade (e.g., music industry, film industry, retail shopping…just to name a few). The massive increase in volume and the speed at which news and information flows through the Internet to myriad digital platforms is literally too much for humans to manage. Information fatigue amidst a wealth of resources discourages the possibility of comprehension beyond our own, narrow perspectives. In light of where we find ourselves, recollecting – that is, literally putting disparate pieces back together – the human may be the most important task going forward. Schwab may have put it best in his encouragement that the significant work of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will be to “together shape a future that works for all by putting people first, empowering them and constantly reminding ourselves that all of these new technologies are first and foremost tools made by people for people.” (Schwab, The Fourth Industrial Revolution). Or, maybe Jesus, Paul, Peter and whoever wrote Hebrews said it better centuries ago in their call for Christians (and by extension, all of God’s human creatures) to “love one another.” If we can genuinely love one another in and through all that we do, “love covers a multitude of sins” (I Peter 4.8) and is a foundational step toward reclaiming our humanity.

To sum up SXSW Interactive 2018: Things are looking mighty grim, so let’s get back to basics because there is important work to do and we have a shared responsibility to inspire creativity and create a positive future for everyone! If you missed my daily reflections on SXSW, click the phrases in the sentence above for a recap. I live in the hope that I will write more this year, so subscribe to the blog and you will receive update notifications. There is a lot of constructive work to do going forward, and I hope to be part of the rebuilding effort.