NEW Reality Relationship FUTURE SHOCK FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

By Ben Lytle

Relationships, as we know them today, will appear unsophisticated by 2050.

Barriers that have separated human beings since the beginning of time will likely be reduced or overcome, including time, distance, language, culture, individual differences, unconscious bad habits, and generational and historical perspectives.

Relationships will become more important, not less. They will be easier to form with greater numbers of people digitally. Special new relationships will be possible with historical figures recreated through virtual and augmented reality, holographic technology, and other forms of automation.

Relationships will be possible over the extraordinary distances involved in space travel. Sustainable, meaningful relationships will be more widespread. More people will know what is most valued in relationships and how to develop them, as introduced later in this chapter.

The twenty-first-century relationship revolution will be powered by the same forces of change and emerging technologies that are changing work and lifestyles and creating superhuman qualities.

Connectivity innovations expand the number of people who can be connected to form relationships. Theoretically, in the future, an audience of seven billion people could be brought together and connected simultaneously. The volume of information that can be exchanged, and the complexity of the functions that can be performed while connected, will steadily increase.

Language and cultural innovations will remove language barriers with an instant translation that includes cultural interpretations and suggestions to bridge cultural gaps as well.

Realism innovations will make our electronic-digital interpersonal experiences as real as those that take place in person. These innovations include virtual reality, augmented reality, holographic technology, gaming technology applied to commercial applications, and voiceand thought-activated brain-to-computer interfaces (BCIs).

Mobility technologies will make inperson relationships available to more people by making travel cheaper, faster, and safer.

Customization of electronic communications at the consumer interface will adjust for individual differences in relatability to lift each person to needed proficiency.

Relationship gains will not come from technology alone. Democratization will urge us to discover and project our true selves through our brands and to become stronger, more self-reliant, and more confident. Increased selfconfidence will assist in developing the trust needed for relationship depth. Deinstitutionalization will make relationships more important as institutions around us become less reliable, relevant, and available. Population declines in most countries, and living and working in the Cloud with automation will increase the value placed on human relationships.

The next few decades will be marked by a massive shift in how and with whom we relate, with significant consequences for civilization. You will need to learn new ways to relate and to increase relationship proficiency to thrive. Your new challenges will include receptivity to new forms of communication, developing healthy relationships with automation, bridging individual differences, embracing shared experience and empathy, developing kinship or intimacy without in-person proximity, and improving relationship proficiency.

Receptivity to New Forms of Communication

Consider how the smartphone and social media have changed our lives; that is nothing compared to what lies ahead. Younger people in the past typically adapted to new forms of communication faster than older people. All generations will need to continue to learn and adapt in the future, but it will become easier as the brain-to-computer interfaces (BCIs) utilize voice, automated assistants, and thought instead of keyboards and screens.

Wayne Parker is a bright, successful, tough guy in his early eighties who seems twenty years younger. He spent most of his life working with his hands and avoided technology like it was a swarm of mosquitos. He never touched a cell phone or computer, so his wife, Mary, handled technology on his behalf whenever required. Recently, Wayne’s younger sister was diag- nosed with an advanced terminal disease and given only a few days to live. Wayne and his siblings desperately wanted to travel to their sister to say their goodbyes, but their own health, along with complex travel arrangements to her distant home made it impractical. Mary arranged a Zoom call with all the siblings instead; it was their first experience with the new technology. The Zoom-enabled gathering of siblings was a tender, bittersweet, unforgettable experience. Wayne told friends and family that he had witnessed a miracle that only modern technology could have provided. He subsequently purchased a smartphone, and Mary is teaching him to text, email, and Zoom.

Developing Healthy Relationships with Automation

People will continue to develop relationships with humanlike automation over the next three decades—a relationship process that began years ago with voice response systems like Siri and Alexa. Movies have long showcased heroic, cute, or terrifying automation, ranging from just voices to near-perfect human replications. The movies probably got it right. In time, androids will almost perfectly mimic humans. They will provide life-improving benefits and unintended—and sometimes severe—consequences. Currently, several companies are developing automated solutions to combat loneliness in the elderly, children, and socially isolated people, while other companies are testing voice-activated killer drones.

The scenario that prevails will depend upon the wisdom of those of you living through the next few decades. The outcome of your first android relationship is as unpredictable as it would be if aliens landed tomorrow. Deciding how you will relate to a non-organic creature may seem premature, but perhaps now is the time to begin thinking about it, given what could arise from such an encounter and considering the historical tragic misunderstandings between explorers and indigenous peoples.

Consider the perils of confusing automation with human reality. For example, the automated assistants of the future could take on an outsized role in your life, leading to unexpected issues. When used properly, however, that same assistant could fast-track your career and serve as an extension of your own power. The Academy Award-winning movie Her was based on a feasible and creepy moral dilemma. A lonely man named Theodore (played by Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with his smartphone’s humanized operating system voice named Samantha (played by Scarlett Johansson). Their playful interaction in the beginning develops into romantic love. But soon, Samantha discovers other automated assistants like herself and develops relationships with them. She recognizes Theodore’s human inferiority compared to her own kind and abandons him, leaving him heartbroken.

These stories and dozens of others illustrate the perils of anthropomorphism, which is attributing human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object. As humans, we seek a deep connection with those things we care about. We project our own feelings and values into non-human or inorganic creatures to create a relationship that, in reality, is not mutual. Most of us have anthropomorphized stuffed animals, cars, bikes, coffee cups, homes, and especially pets. potentialistfuture.com

We are almost certain to anthropomorphize automation when it thinks like us, serves us, and may even mimic our emotions. Anthropomorphism seems even more likely to occur as human population declines, which it is already doing in many countries. Perhaps far into the future we will accept androids as human cousins deserving respect and special treatment. Maybe there will be movements and organizations like those today that seek inalienable rights for animals.

You will help shape the practices, attitudes, and social mores toward humanlike automation in your own life and in the lives of others. Those influences and decisions could endure for decades or centuries. Hopefully, you will be a thoughtful, careful adopter who avoids anthropomorphism and finds the balance between the inevitable downsides of innovation and its unimaginable benefits if used wisely.

Ben Lytle is a self-made serial entrepreneur-CEO known for being ahead of the curve, adjusting and thriving during change, Lytle now is a thought leader on the future. He launched five successful companies, two listing on the New York Stock Exchange. His best-known success being Anthem, with a current market value of more than $100 billion. He is a healthcare policy expert who served on state and presidential healthcare commissions, and a governance leader with extensive public company experience.