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May the Fourth be with Us

During this global pandemic when the world was put on pause, we saw the wholesale effects of the inequities in our technological system. The most vulnerable were being bombarded with a need to catch up to a digital world that remained just at the edge of their grasp. Previously, schools, libraries, and public spaces provided the bridge between these digital realms. Suddenly, those were closed. These public institutions, with COVID-19, only became accessible through an internet connection and a digital peripheral. These distinct disparities are discussed in The Fourth Industrial Revolution by Klaus Schwab. Schwab points out that “the digital divide becomes ever more pressing as it is increasingly difficult for people to participate in the digital economy and civic engagement without proper internet access and/or without access to a connected device of sufficient knowledge to use the device.” in his book.

Throughout modern history, humankind has witnessed, as well as instigated, these mechanistic and electronic revolutions. The first and second revolutions were earmarking by industry which brought about a carbon-based economy utilizing huge manufacturing plants run by coal. As time has moved forward, we have outgrown these modes of thinking and production. While the most current 3rd and 4th revolutions started back in the late ’70s, they were the beginnings of a technology-based digital economy. We are currently in the late stages of the 3rd revolution which revolved around the introduction of consumer-based computer internet technology which brought the world closer via communications. Moving rapidly into the 4th revolution, we are experiencing how to harness those specific digital attributes to create a systemic shift in the way we think about health care, education, and politics.

The 4th Industrial Revolution

https://youtu.be/khjY5LWF3tg

World Economic Forum published on April 13, 2016

An Overview of Industry 4.0

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a way of describing the blurring of boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. It’s a fusion of advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and other technologies. It’s the collective force behind many products and services that are fast becoming indispensable to modern life. Think GPS systems that suggest the fastest route to a destination, voice-activated virtual assistants such as Apple’s Siri, personalized Netflix recommendations, and Facebook’s ability to recognize your face and tag you in a friend’s photo. In a quote from the World Economic Forum:

“When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. Moreover, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country. And the breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance.” https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/ 

A Needed Pause

Meanwhile, much of humankinds need to create and progress is partially why we are in this global pandemic. Encroaching and opening areas that were previously frozen or untouched has made a global population vulnerable. For example, visiting wet markets to attain new culinary sensations or travelling to more sensitive areas are leaving boundaries between habitats mutable. So, it seems as though this pandemic reminds us to stop and take a moment. Be more mindful of the world around us. These times give us the opportunity to reflect on where we are at and what we are doing. It has also challenged our ability to be “agile” in the face of immediate change. Suddenly, we needed to rethink how to approach education, business and the arts in order to stay healthy. Educators were being fast tracked to teach online through remote learning. Non-essential businesses were reimaging how to engage their consumers in new ways of physical distance and limited engagements. The arts were having to relook at how to perform and entertain through digital networks and social platforms. These challenges were met in many cases and we managed. This reminds us all, we can meet changes with success.

This is what brings me to the question, how do we move forward to be inclusive of everyone’s needs?

Change Makers answer the call

Let’s look at one change maker that started reimagining industry 3.0 then the 4.0 world early on in his life and now revolutionizing the way we think about our lives in the 21st century. As a young man, South African born, Elon Musk started to imagine the world through futuristic eyes while reading Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. His mother, Maye Musk says, “When Elon was young, I noticed that he read everything. He was always absorbing information. We called Elon the Encyclopedia. I guess now we would call him The Internet.” He resonated with the idea that “you should try to take the set of actions that are likely to prolong civilization, minimize the probability of a dark age and reduce the length of a dark age if there is one”.[i] From his formative years, it became a mission of his to assist in maximizing his capacity to influence creations that better humanity and prolong sustainability. Outside of being the CEO of Tesla, one of the most globally renowned electric vehicle companies, he’s also affiliated with SolarCity, SpaceX, Hyperloop, OpenAI and Neuralink. Each of these businesses revolve around industry 4.0 concepts.

For instance, SolarCity is a U.S. provider of solar power systems. Then in 2016, SolarCity was acquired by Tesla. The integration of the two companies seemed obvious as Musk says, “If you have a great solar roof, and you have a battery pack in your house, and you have an electric car, that scales worldwide. You can solve the whole energy equation with that.” (Oct 28, 2016 | Source)

The concept for HyperLoop creates a high-speed transportation system that builds reduced-pressure tubes using pressurized capsules as the mode of travel between large city centers such as New York to Washington, D.C. This transportation system has been cited as being cheaper than any other mode for long-distance transport. As well, it’s impact on the environment is nominal outside of the initial construction.

Meanwhile, a division of SpaceX, Starlink, is in the final stages of providing delivery of high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable. When putting tens of thousands of satellites in orbit and connecting them in a network with one another, he says he can ensure smart global coverage in a way no one ever has. Each solar-powered Starlink satellite will have sensors and thrusters so it can detect its location and stay in line. Musk also says these satellites will safely deorbit at end of life without leaving behind unnecessary space garbage. Currently, Starlink is in its beta test stage and looking for consumer’s be part of their large scale implementation process. In his book, Schwab suggests that by 2025, 90% of people will have regular access to the internet. As he says, “regular access to the internet and information will no longer be a benefit of developed economies, but a basic right like clean water.”

With TESLA, Musk has also done what previous CEOs failed to do which is put priority in sharing the technology and making these all-electric cars affordable for an average consumer. As well, in 2014, Tesla allowed good faith usage of its patents to accelerate the development of electric vehicles. Then, in 2016, he unveiled the Model 3, Tesla’s most consumer-friendly electric vehicle coming in at $35,000 US and making it the world’s best-selling electric car. Being a stickler for branding as much as technology, Musk originally wanted to label his newest addition, Model E. However, Ford wouldn’t release its trademark ownership. Interestingly, the dampening of the “E” version caused Musk to rethink his spelling of all TESLA’s S, X, Y series to be S3XY instead of his preferred SEXY.

During this same time frame, in 2015, Musk announced his creation of OpenAI, a not for profit artificial intelligence (AI) company. OpenAI’s intentions are to develop artificial general intelligence in a way that is safe and beneficial to humanity. Which aligns itself with Neuralink, where the organization is looking at ways on how to create devices that can be implanted in the human brain.

Musk’s visions remind us all that anything is possible. These changes will advance North America into a cleaner and more empathic future.  So, with the right investments and policies from other leaders, a shift in global civilization is just around the corner in this Fourth Revolution.

[i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (2016) by Klaus Schwab

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Waking up to the New Realities

In the recent podcast on See Change MAKERS, we explored the idea of collective housing. In these communities, many people collaborate by sharing their skills to better a home life environment. During the COVID-19 crisis, we have learned how important working together as a global community can make on finding answers to big issues such as learning from what other countries do to curb a virus that has no boundaries; wash hands with soap and water; social distance and stay home. However, meeting challenges by isolating and ignoring the situation, means matters will worsen as seen by countries such as the United States. The US administration initially applied denial then took a hands-off approach when helping their state senators and citizens mitigate the crisis. Now, they have the greatest number of cases, globally.   

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization states in their current healthy green recovery manifesto, we need to work together to climb out of this crisis in a conscious and thoughtful way. The guide outlines six key points to enable a healthy and safe green recovery. They are:

  1. Protect and preserve the source of human health: Nature
  2. Invest in essential services, from water and sanitation to clean energy in healthcare facilities.
  3. Ensure a quick healthy energy transition.
  4. Promote healthy, sustainable food systems.
  5. Build healthy, liveable cities.
  6. Stop using taxpayers money to fund pollution.
World Health Organization’s “Prescription for a healthy & green COVID-19 recovery” published May 29th, 2020

The WHO also establishes that when we put our energies towards the betterment of humanities, health and welfare, people will listen to create the needed changes. Currently, global scientists, researchers, various companies and organizations plus health care providers are working together collectively to come up with a vaccine as well as interim preventative measures.

Collaboration in the sciences is nothing new. Peer-reviewed journals are a mainstay for all scientific research. It is necessary and mandatory to have research reviewed by your peers to look at the pitfalls or other peripheral circumstances that may not have been considered during research. This is practiced in universities, hospitals, and many other established public research institutions. Collaboration and cooperation are also important in the field of technology and business. Much of the day to day computer-related tasks are based on these foundations in their very application. Consider Google, one of the most popular search engines with a stunning 87.35% market share. Google hosts a variety of collaborating resources such as Google Drive, Docs & Meet to name a few. Each of these offer platforms in which others can contribute and/or share information. Whether it is health, technology, business, or education, we live in a society that at its foundation requires some form of collaboration.

Commons-Based Peer Production produced by P2Pvalue & designed by Laura Recio

The World Health Organization invites you to contribute your Big Idea to shape the future of training and learning in achieving better health for all.

CONTRIBUTE YOUR IDEAS BY CLICKING HERE

The next phase in human evolution anticipates our ability to work together for the common good for us all. This leads us to the consideration of the next global industrial revolution, which will be discussed during See Change MAKERS’ next BLOG installment.

Please stay tuned in…

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AHEAD of the FLATTENED CURVE

COVID-19 has given the world time to reflect on many issues. From the way we work to the way we consume. Suddenly these modes of transactions and communications have been revisited. Interestingly, we’ve realized, we can live without the variety of distractions that our lives have become entangled with. Meanwhile, environments, and ecosystems have flourished because we are able to live with less. So now, the economy needs to begin again. Where does this lead us?

We have been given an opportunity to start anew; to begin again in a different way. During this pause, the European Union has been utilizing the time to conceptualize their GREEN DEAL. As many of us have been working from home, so to have the policymakers and administrators. On May 4th, PBS’s/CNN’s Christian Amanpour talked with the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen about the EU’s new Green Deal. Leyen established that the Green Deal will ramp up as they open up. This downtime has provided the perfect pause to solidify the vision and perfect a starting point to implement the new circular economy. By applying their vision of a circular economy, they hope to increase the EU’s GDP by .05% which will employ 700,000 people by 2030. One of the significant trajectories for this new economy is to have climate neutrality by 2050. Immediately, one main focal point is waste reduction through repairables, renewables, and reusables. From energy resources to consumer products, there will be a focus on creating lengthier life to various consumables such as electronics, waste reduction, and building on resource sustainability.

The European Commission presented The European Green Deal, which sets out how to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, boosting the economy, improving people’s health and quality of life, caring for nature, and leaving no one behind. 13/12/2019 Strasbourg – EP/Louise-Weiss

The three overarching themes of the E.U’s GREEN DEAL are:

  • No net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050
  • Economic growth is decoupled from resource use
  • No person and no place are left behind.[1]

The consortium is looking at, not only, their own cluster of countries but looking at the global effects that a population’s actions place on all of us. They have quite rightly taken responsibility.

In some parts of Canada, some of these circular economy actions have been taken place for a number of years without actual acknowledgment. In the lower mainland, reusables are becoming the norm not the exception. Policies may actually be lagging behind public behavior. When talking about resource and energy management, the policy is an imperative act. Thomas Gunton, the director of the Resource and Environmental Planning Program at Simon Fraser University and a former B.C. deputy environment minister is quoted in his recent op-ed article for CBC.


“The good news is we have the ability to meet our climate-change commitments by replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar energy, buying electric cars, and upgrading our homes and businesses to reduce energy consumption. And, as the International Energy Agency states, the current economic downturn presents a major opportunity for governments to accelerate the trend toward clean energy.”[2]  

            So where do we go from here? As Canada starts to ramp up, will we be a country “ahead of the curve”, once we have flattened it, or will we be left behind?

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en

[2] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/covid-19-climate-change-crisis-opinion-1.5554971

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2020 EARTH DAY’s 50th Anniversary

We are here on the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. We have come a long way. In the current global pandemic situation, we have realized how much human impact has actually affected the planet. It seems during this sudden pause, the earth is taking a breath. Animals are moving freely; waters are clearing and air emissions have been dramatically reduced.

Fifty years ago, the environmental movement was spawned by one of the largest environmental disasters of that time; the Santa Barbara Oil Spill. It came at the end of a decade that started out with the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.* The book laid out a warning against the harmful effects of DDT and other chemicals in the food chain. All of this during an era which was ripe with civil unrest and antiwar sentiment.

Now almost fifty years onward, we were seeing similar earmarks. As the world brought in massive protests aligned alongside Greta Thunberg’s environmental call, people started to pay attention again. Then suddenly all was put to rest or on hold. Now here we are on April 22nd, 2020, in a global social isolation brought on by a virus that has no borders. There have been many who have said this is nature calling out for us to pay attention.

Are we ready to listen this time?

*This is a New York Times article about Rachel Carson and her book, Silent Spring. You will be asked to sign in for FREE to read it (with no obligation to pay). I strongly suggest you do. I chose this article since it gives so much other information such as her background, the situation that motivated the book, etc. It is an exceptionally well-written piece and worth the sign-up. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Photo by Daniel Frank

During a recent episode of Quirks & Quarks, host, Bob McDonald spoke with University of British Columbia oceanographer Philippe Tortell about his new book, Earth 2020: An Insider’s Guide to a Rapidly Changing Planet— a collection of essays examining how our understanding of the environment has changed in the last half-century, and a better path forward for our planet. In his new publication, you will see a multitude of CHANGEMAKERS telling their stories.

Free Read of the publication