Who's the boss here?

We are at a historic crossroads: who will be the boss in the future? The technology or us? In my opinion, there are 2 options.

1. In future, we will use technology as a tool to solve our social, ecological and everyday challenges.

2. we are increasingly lulling ourselves into filter bubbles optimized by algorithms, allowing them to influence our world view and our behaviour and, together with our data, being used for profit through surveillance.

In my keynote speech “Future Mindset”, I recently outlined a day from Option 2:

“The smart implant in the back of your right hand wakes you up at the perfect time for your sleep rhythm. Smartphones no longer exist. And unfortunately no snooze function either, the implant forces you to get up. You get ready for the day and get into the back of one of the ever-present autonomous vehicles. The ride is free for you, but your biometric data is instantly recorded via the seat. This data is used to display advertising tailored to you throughout the journey. You don’t even have to order, the system automatically recognizes your impulse to buy based on your reaction and orders for you automatically, including same-day delivery.
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You drive on to the promenade and meet up with an old friend you haven’t seen for a long time. You walk along the promenade and talk about the good old days. You notice once again how spotless the paths are here. There’s not a single piece of garbage lying around. No graffiti, no dog poo. But that’s no wonder, because the public space is completely under video surveillance and any misconduct is immediately and automatically punished. You say goodbye to your friend and stroll into the office.
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Your smart implant registers that your energy level is not yet high enough to perform well at work today and automatically activates a power playlist with energetic beats. Once you arrive at your desk, the time-tracking bot starts to measure your time, automatically deducting breaks and distractions. But then you suddenly have a strange feeling. You feel so at the mercy of everything here, you can hardly make any decisions yourself and it annoys you that you no longer have any privacy. Of course, your smart implant registers this immediately and changes the playlist to your favorite tracks, which distracts you and immediately takes your mind off things.
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A short time later, the implant starts to glow red. You tear your eyes away because you know what this means: your social score, your social credit rating, has just dropped so low that you have slipped down a level. This means: no more long-distance travel, curfew, restricted account, access restrictions. While you’re still sweating over what the reason could be, it’s already being communicated via Messenger: You carelessly crossed the road at a red light today. In addition, your emotional and physical behavior recorded during the walk - neuroscans, pulse, gestures, facial expressions, walking speed, etc. - gives you an 87% probability of committing a crime within the next 6 months. “.

If that is the future, I would prefer option 1, but much of what has been outlined is already in place today. Whether social scoring, monitoring, priming, advertising algorithms …

The others will do it

Our dilemma: how can we avoid this? Not much comes from politicians - they are far too busy preserving the system. And the things they are trying to regulate have no effect on the bad things, but they are putting pressure on everyone else - the GDPR sends its regards. Corporations also feel more committed to shareholder value than to people - be they customers or employees. That leaves only us. Every single one of us. The self-employed. SMEs. Parents. Nerds. Advisors. Supervisors. Employees. People. Everyone at home, in their environment, in the context of their colleagues. Step by step towards a positive future. Because change starts small - with us!