Key Messages
Exploring The Benefits Of Technology-Induced Globalization
The Age of Acceleration is a time that some may find frightening and overwhelming, but if you take the time to look around and think about it, there are actually plenty of positives.
Technology has allowed for a kind of global collaboration that we’ve never seen before, with big ideas being quickly shared between countries, continents, governments and cultures.
It’s also given rise to social media platforms such as Twitter, which can foster communal conversations on topics we all care about.
With this kind of networking power, issues such as climate change or dwindling natural resources can be discussed by huge numbers of people in real-time.
And with Moore’s Law continuing to hold true – which states that technology will become more powerful at an exponential rate – the possibilities are even greater.
So while navigating this ever-changing landscape can seem daunting at times, don’t forget to take pause and appreciate the opportunities available in the Age of Acceleration.
There’s no telling what amazing things are possible in the future!
In 2007, Three Accelerations – Technology, Markets, And Climate Change- Met To Create A Great Disruption: Humans Must Adapt Rapidly In Order To Keep Pace With Constant Change
2007 marked a turning point in human history – an era of constant adaptation and great disruption.
This was the year that technology, markets, and climate change all increased at an exponential rate.
We saw the iPhone hit shelves, Twitter reach global scale, and Airbnb take sanctuary in San Francisco.
On top of that, AT&T’s national wireless network had a data traffic increase of 100,000 percent from 2007 to 2014!
At the center of it all is Moore’s Law – processing power doubles roughly every two years.
This impressive technological acceleration thus contributed to market accelerations; we now have global commerce driving social networks as well as vast amounts of information pouring in at break-neck speed.
It goes without saying that climate change has experienced considerable acceleration too.
Put simply, this means that our lives are constantly on the move with us needing to adapt to a constantly changing world if we want any sort of stability in our lives.
Rather than static stability, you should expect dynamic stability like riding a bike – you’ll stay afloat providing you keep moving!
So although it requires some serious adaptation and might not come naturally for everybody; this is the reality we now live in with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
How Astonishingly Fast Technology Is Evolving And Disrupting Life As We Know It
Technology is transforming at a rate never seen before, and it’s impacting our lives in both positive and negative ways.
We have come a long way since the early 2000s when sending stories via email would have been considered revolutionary.
Now, with just a push of a button, news can be published instantaneously from anywhere on the planet.
That kind of advancement has allowed for some pretty amazing innovations to happen at breakneck speeds.
Just think about how much digitization has changed the face of dairy farms in upstate New York: gone are the days of manual labor-intensive milking – now thanks to computers, cattle can be monitored and milked virtually overnight.
What it means for those traditional farmers is that they will have to restructure their way or risk becoming obsolete within five to seven years.
Similarly, many mid-level and low income jobs are starting to become automated due to technology, as evidenced by studies like the University of Oxford’s 2013 research which found that nearly half of all jobs in America are at high risk of being replaced by computers over the course of 20 years.
Clearly, technology is transforming faster than ever before – so fast that longtime staples like MySpace and Blackberry devices have seemingly vanished without anyone batting an eye.
All this goes to show just how quickly things change in today’s age – making it all the more important for us to stay prepared for whatever comes our way!
The Shifting Economy: How Global Digital Flows Are Driving Innovation And Transformation
Globalization has resulted in an increasingly interconnected world, and the digital markets are a major driving force behind this.
We see a relentless flow of data through various popular social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter – two networks that had over one billion and 328 million monthly active users respectively in 2017 alone.
This web of information exchanges not only impacts our financial behavior, but it also shapes our cultures, our politics and even extends to areas like fashion.
For example, when Michelle Obama wore an item from ASOS back in 2012, the dress sold out almost instantaneously after it was retweeted over 800 thousand times!
It is clear that globalization has vastly changed how we earn money by replacing carefully acquired skills with quickly evolving global flows of information and commerce.
Traditional methods of acquiring education no longer guarantee success or security as what might have been valuable knowledge today could be outdated tomorrow.
Even long-established companies such as General Electric realized this shift, running contests that invite creative ideas from all over the world to stay relevant in this new economy.
There is no doubt that market globalization has fostered an increasingly interconnected world that we live in today.
Climate Change: How Humanity Is Pushing The Biosphere To Its Breaking Point
Climate change is not only real, but it’s also continuing to accelerate and threaten to turn the world upside down.
Evidence of this can be seen in the almost unimagineable extreme heat index of 163 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius) recorded in Iran 2015, as well as the mild winters that traditionally frigid locations are now receiving each year.
This climate “sweet spot,” which has given us such a hospitable environment over the years is quickly evaporating!
Scientists have observed a 35 percent increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration from its peak over 800,000 years ago and current sea levels are 115,000 years higher than ever before.
We even experienced a record-breaking July 2016 that was the hottest month out of the 1,639 months ever recorded.
The worsening environmental degradation is having catastrophic effects throughout the world, especially in Africa.
Climate shifts like droughts recurrently send more migrants from Africa into Europe than any other factor or phenomenon.
This mass migration happens with people leaving troubled homes because of terrorism, unemployment and frightening futures due to ecology breakdowns linked to climate change.
Our situation looks bleak – Earth might not be able to sustain humans for much longer if current trends continue since 2050 will see an expected population rise from 7.2 billion today to 9.7 billion people!
This means more cars, more homes and far bigger carbon footprints…putting it simply, humanity has maxed out their time on Earth due to global warming and they must find ways to at least slow down this process before its too late!
We Can All Take An Example From St. Louis Park And Learn To Embrace Change By Working Together For The Common Good
The age of acceleration has brought about a number of issues, but it has also enabled individuals to work together for the common good.
For instance, an information technology firm called New Media Inc., which specializes in big data analytics and media monitoring for the Turkish government, and many other organizations was founded by someone with only a basic education and his family in 2007.
The example of St.
Louis Park, Minnesota is another shining image of how working together can create positive change.
The small suburb was once a white, anti-Semitic backwater but with visionary leaders pushing forth social policies to meet the changing needs of the community, it has transformed into a progressive multicultural society where 70% of voters still support funding schools despite only 15% having children that attend them.
These stories prove that human cooperation is key in creating an equitable and dignified society that create better living conditions for everyone regardless of their backgrounds.
Everyone can work to make a difference no matter where they live, as long as they look at the bigger picture and strive to benefit everyone instead of just themselves.
Wrap Up
Thank You For Being Late by Thomas L.
Friedman is an eye-opening book that offers a unique perspective on the rapidly changing world we live in today.
Through his research, interviews and stories, he emphasizes the importance of coming together in order to form meaningful connections amidst a rapidly advancing digital landscape.
The final summary of this book is to get out there and start connecting in the physical world.
We live in an era where technology has brought us closer together than ever before; yet ironically enough, many of us feel isolated – almost disconnected from our peers.
This is why it’s so important to set aside our technological devices and create tangible interactions with others in order to ensure that we are healthy: mentally and physically.
Thanks for being late indeed!
