The Rise of the Imagination Age
How We’ll Regain Humanity by Losing Our Devices
By: Sandy Frinton, PULSE Editor-in-Chief
Imagine a world in the next decade where…
We will have more time to dream, innovate and create.
We will spend time with people, not machines.
We can work anywhere without a physical workplace.
Borders across the globe will be eliminated.
We will be unified and always connected.
But we won’t have our cell phones and other physical devices that we rely on constantly now. Technology will be invisible and always present, allowing us to go back to a simpler world where we can be people again.
This is the vision Kevin Parikh, Chairman and CEO of Avasant presented in an enlightening and inspiring presentation at OWS21 on The Rise of the Imagination Age: Unlocking the New Era and Human Creativity and Innovation.
“The Imagination Age will be a period for sustained human innovation,” he said. “We will have total freedom to envision new thoughts, dream and create.”
Digital Foundation Makes New Age Possible
The digital revolution that has fundamentally transformed all aspects of our lives, boosting productivity and unlocking trillions of dollars in economic output has given us the foundation that will make it possible for us to advance into this new era.
According to Parikh, organizations need to go beyond digital and unleash the power of imagination to unlock a new era for human creativity and innovation. The Imagination Age will be about leveraging the digital foundations and technology omnipresence to profoundly transform human experiences.
“The Digital Age signals the onset of a new era of human creativity and innovation,” he said. “This is the rise of the Imagination Age.”
Parikh spoke about how the relationship between technology and the human experience has changed over the ages – advancing from the Machine Age in the pre-2000s where we relied on physical and machine-based technology to the Information Age up to 2015 where the electronic superhighway connected us to the world.
The current era of “digital singularity” that we are living in now is the point where tech omnipresence and human experience converge. Virtual technology has allowed us to stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic and work remotely.
Digital singularity provides the technology infrastructure of cybersecurity, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence and brings it together in a converged way so can experience something better and enjoy the digital experience, he said.
Invisible Technology
Where are we headed in 2030 and beyond? In describing this vision, Parikh said our devices will disappear and technology will become invisible. The technology that keeps us connected will be embedded in the walls around us and in the cars we drive. Hologram, 3D virtual objects that aren’t there but look like they are, will bring our colleagues and friends into our daily lives, providing a stronger experience of being together.
This transformation will be possible because of the significant investments being made in the technology infrastructure and backbone with 5G networks increasing speed by over 10 percent and cutting latency in communications by 98 percent.
By the year 2025, over a 100 percent increase in global wireless connectivity is projected enabled by massive IoT and 5G, according to the Avasant presentation.
Endless Potential
Without our reliance on personal devices and constant communication via email, it will almost be like returning to a time when we didn’t have technology at our fingertips. As a result, freedom of thought and creativity will be unleashed. Of course, privacy and security issues will need to be addressed but this is an environment we’ll be happy to be part of.
“The Imagination Age will unlock all five of our senses and our humanity,” he said. “We can fully immerse ourselves in multi-sensory experiences to collaborate unlike ever before.”
Some of the elements of the Imagination Age that Parikh envisions include:
- No more physical workspaces – we can work anywhere, with anyone, at any time and without borders
Already, $700 billion has been saved through remote working and the U.S. has increased productivity by 5 million human hours, putting us on the path for even greater gains in the decade to come, he said.
- Time with people, not machines – we will be more present and fully immersed in our interactions.
Instead of the 70 plus billion hours spent behind the wheel driving, self-driving vehicles and other technologies to come will give us this time back to we can have more total immersive experiences, he said.
- United and always connected – we will always be prepared to collaborate and dream. As we learn to create and dream in this new model, we will find we have more time for ourselves.
Boundless Opportunities
The Imagination Age will allow collaboration between countries, nations and people, providing the impetus to solve United Nation Sustainable Development Goals, Parikh predicted.
With the elimination of boundaries, in the future people may live in one country but work in other countries as virtual citizens. This will raise new questions between nations on such issues as who is a local citizen and who pays taxes.
The interconnectedness of the global economy also will change in this new age with new technologies leading to the increased use of bitcoins and new global currencies. For example, Tesla recently announced the ability to purchase automobiles with a simple bitcoin transaction.
“The opportunities excite me,” Parikh said. “I remain optimistic. I believe we will not only overcome those problems but regain our humanity.”
