A Future with Spotify.

There is a change coming in the world

It is caused by technology, by privatisation, by overcrowding of the world, by immigration, by the diminishing possibility of freedom of speech, by growth in human slavery, greed, corruption and an economic South Sea bubble which still owes us two decades of false dawns.

There's trouble brewing.

But also massive opportunity.

There's no TV series that you cannot see on the Internet or Netflix.

There's no music you can't hear on Spotify.

No designer item you can't buy a copy of.

No Polytechnic that won't call itself a University and print you off a nice degree in exchange for money.

There are a million lectures you can sit through on youTube.

A billion books you can download.

And there is pretty much no thing that you could identify that you want from technology that someone hasn't either already invented or isn't improving a method, an app, a program, or device that will do it for you. 

And it's all becoming affordable. Frequently it's free, if you sell part of yourself to a little advertising.

And of course if that's not enough, there's always a few effortless highs awaiting you - drugs and alcohol. They're never going to go away. They even prefix many of them with the word "legal" nowadays. 

That's because their legal.

In fact, we now pretty much have everything required to keep the masses quiet.

To download them goodish lives.

And while that's going on... all this artisan bread and circus, the rich can concentrate on the important stuff like getting richer, buying a big house, and chalking up two or four seven-year marriages.

The businessmen will squeeze the masses with zero hours even as they tender for bounteous contracts, always ready to apologise later when the corruption is discovered.

They can fund their duck ponds and dynasties or whatever else they think themselves entitled to. 

Not all will make it of course. Some will overreach, bankrupted by their own greed, some will overTweet, bankrupted by their own ego. But largely they will all concentrate on the important business of getting richer and richer. Because they are important and their motives are monodimensional..

And you? 

Well, you will have access to absolutely everything.

Are you excited?

Are you scared?

But with everybody so equal, how are you going to be unique?
How will you work on yourself?

Do you think a doctor can't be replaced by a nurse?

Maybe you're a dentist who doesn't think we'll ever conquer tooth decay?

Or a lawyer who believes the system will never change?

Or a shopgirl who thinks you'll always be needed to assist at the automatic checkout?

Are you sure?

Are you really that sure you're so necessary?

Why will we need you?

Why are you so good?

But at least people need each other, don't they?

Of course they do, but just remind me why that is... 

Are you more entertaining than Spotify?

Are you better than a TV series?

Do you know more than Google?

Are you more interesting than Wikipedia?

What do you bring to the party?

While you do (or preferably don't) choose to think about that, I'm going to offer you an answer. One that you may not even think you need.

Why not use the time you are given to gather skills that it takes time to gather?
Read that again..slower.

For example, there's no point in having a perfect an app that can translate Spanish for you, because we can already see that that technology even if perfect would be dehumanised.  What it won't ever do is do a conversation for you, in the way you would do it. It wouldn't choose the same words that you would choose, or select the same inflection, or humour or charm.

So spend the next decade learning Spanish, or piano, or if you are not interested in mental dexterity then go for something that makes you physically fitter. You're going to need it. 

Spend some of your years doing things it takes years to do.

Humanity has a lifespan for a reason.

Choose skills that are universal and not parochial, or local, or that reflect merely the early 21st century.

Choose well and you might end up with something you can bank on.