Our great human problem and the one solution we can all apply

My theme for 2019 is being a better, wiser, and more valuable human being to my family, friends, neighbours, community, colleagues and clients.

This is part of the reason why I chose better, wiser, valuable, as my 3 words for this year.

Read more about the great 3 word concept and then choose your own.

I believe that when all of us are better, wiser and more valuable in our own best way, we will solve our great human problem - disconnection.

We've become disconnected on a massive scale. 

We're disconnected from our planet.

We're disconnected from reality.

We're disconnected from each other.

I came to disconnection being our great human problem via several sources:

HT to Seth Godin for his post about David Hilbert's 1900 problem list and his own list. I too made a list (see PS).

HT to Johann Hari for his book 'Lost Connections'.

HT to Gerd Leonhard for introducing me to the concept of androrithms "those qualities that makes us human".

In 2019 let's master androrithms and focus less on algorithms.

HT also to "The Internet of Things".

Here's an extract from my new book:

There was no television in my home when I was born in 1953. 

Consequently I am in awe of the vast array of technological advances of my lifetime. Many are simply breathtaking.

The only ones I truly value though are those that genuinely enhance the human experience ethically.

Our lives are entangled in the so-called ‘Internet of Things’, the network of connected “things” that we have allowed to invade our lives.

I’m grateful for the convenience that the things bring. 

Yet I’m increasingly skeptical of their real value because what I am seeing is more human disconnection, less sense of belonging, and an absence of meaningful and caring communities. 

Consider how much of social media is anti-social?

And how much of this new media is really just the old media on steroids? Where would the social media companies be without advertising?

Add to these Reality TV that isn't real and artificial intelligence that by definition is artificial!

There’s a better way forward.

Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

PS My problem list and the order I wrote them in is below. It was only on completion that I realised disconnection was something that you and I can directly do something about.

1. interruption advertising and marketing
2. traffic in cities
3. imperfect streaming
4. plastic packaging
5. pollution in general
6. greedy energy companies hanging on to fossil fuel technology
7. medical fraternity good at trauma, not so good at prevention and cure
8. pharmaceutical companies not helping our health and well-being
9. many drugs like addiction in the sense that we need to keep taking them to stay well
10. cars with human drivers
11. pharmaceutical companies involvement in food industry
12. disconnection
13. no universal basic income
14. taxes to high
15. consumerism in the sense of buying stuff for the sake of it
16. political systems not good for democracy
17. financial system is broken and another crash looms
18. society part of economy instead of economy being part of society
19. worker exploitation through hanging onto industrial age systems
20. education system
21. privacy
22. algorithms
23. lack of internet and technology ethics and code of conduct
24. domestic violence
25. treatment of women