What might be next?

In my last short, I wrote: “Technology’s job is to take over the now, so humans can evolve into what’s next.” But what is next? Honestly, I don’t know.

Everything suggests that valuable work will shift from execution to imagination, from doing to directing. Just as we moved from physical labor in the industrial age to mental creativity in the knowledge age, the future appears to belong to those who can envision new possibilities and guide AI to bring them to life. But that sounds like something for the few most privileged and resourced.

For the majority, what will be viable to do and earn from? New jobs created by visionaries? Will enough people adapt quickly enough? And what happens when those new jobs get automated too?

As our tech-enabled capacity grows, will our appetite for non-tech experiences, solutions, and even distractions also grow?

Will we get burnt out from limitless access and need people to help us unplug, unwind and return to the basics? Will that mean a boom of priests? Or therapists? Or silence curators?

Looking even further, will the future elite hire people just to be around — to dance, to laugh, to escape the bots and feel human again? But that sounds like a return to the days of kings and court jesters. So, hopefully not.

What will the future look like?

I don’t know. Do you?