Posts tagged futurism

This was originally written for a competition run by the Global21 network, asking students to imagine life in 2021, which it won. 

The world is coming apart at the seams, and we couldn’t be happier.

That’s true on two levels. We’re enjoying a radical democratisation of many aspects of our society, dismantling restrictions and giving everyday citizens more power than ever to connect and communicate. But on another level - and I’m ashamed to admit this - I know our happiness is partly the result of head-in-the-sand avoidance of some potentially catastrophic problems. Decentralisation cuts both ways, and the torrent of always-on media distracts many of us from the destructive potential of unproductive political dialogue and fast-moving technologies. Let me explain what I mean by filling you in on the state of the world, today in 2021, and how we got here over the last decade.

Read more →