Since the iPhone release software has been eating the world for ten years now. Now is an era where half of the world owns a smartphone and penetration of computing devices is at an all-time-high across the world. The notion of “software is eating the world” is a long time from being irrelevant. There are no tech-startups anymore as every startup is a tech-startup.
Despite that, we’re only starting to realize what software is capable of. The ongoing struggle to understand its implications that affect all classes of society is a problem I’m not sure we can solve anytime soon. They include government surveillance, data breaches, lack of privacy and ethics. One of the hardest truths to accept is an addiction to social media. It’s hard to wrap a head around the fact that some of the most brilliant minds in the space build algorithms to increase user’s addiction to their social media feed to show more ads and increase engagement indicators by ignoring the fact that it has an impact on minds of both adults and adolescent population.
As of 2018 most people under 30 have been living with the Internet for almost all of their conscious life. More and more people connect to the web every day. Despite that, most of the population doesn’t have a grasp of protocols that support the network. The decentralization that thousands of passionate techies and investors want to happen and build upon is even harder to understand for those who are not tech-savvy.
Should users at all grasp how the protocols and platforms they use work on a lower level? Or should they just get the solution without the equation?
To answer that question I think it’s appropriate to use the framework by Alan Kay that was explained in his lection “How to Invent the Future” (part 1, part 2) for Startup School by YCombinator.
Go ahead and watch it.
So let’s start by imagining the average Joan from the next generation, a decent 30 years ahead, the year 2048. What would be Joan’s first principles? What is the difference in thinking between two Joans? Joan 2018 and Joan 2048?
Joan from the year 2048 has higher levels of critical thinking, is hungrier for knowledge, is more likely to be atheist, knows how to code, experiments a lot with her lifestyle, looks for optimization, has a proper understanding of financial world and nature of her body. I dare to say that Joan 2048 is a higher-than-average techie from 2018.
Would Joan 2048 let social media affect her psychology?
Definitely not.
Would Joan 2048 use USD, EUR or JPY in a way they are used in 2018?
Highly unlikely.
Would Joan 2048 dislike the government?
Probably not, cause there wouldn’t be any.
Would Joan 2048 have a passport?
Probably not.
Would Joan 2048 have a personal PC?
Unlikely.
This pattern of questions can lead to some fruitful thoughts.
If Joan 2048 is a higher-than-average techie from today, it would mean she uses Monero, not only Bitcoin. She creates more than she consumes. She ignores or limits her time on Facebook, Instagram or anything similar. She is mostly self-taught, travels a lot (is able to digital nomad), has lower levels of prejudice than most, speaks several languages. She is likely an atheist or agnostic. She is also likely to value minimalism.
So, how should average user in 2018 become more and more like a Joan 2048?
We cannot hope for any government to do their job. It’s not what governments are made for. They are busy politicking. Universities are now an outdated concept that put hundreds of thousands in jeopardy with loans and waste of time because youngsters mostly don’t know better.
As product owners, developers, designers and mostly capitalists we can improve and streamline the complexity of tools to let anyone be more like Joan 2048 regardless of their background and origin. Moving into the age of open-source “governments” where processes that modern economy consists of are simplified is a goal every human being should strive for.
Doing that with software is the most rational thing to do it with for most of the population. It doesn’t require much and lets anyone create wealth from nothing. We just need to make it easier and more available for others. Then compound effect will make its way.
Let’s all become more like Joan 2048.