Many years ago, when I was a student at University studying economics, my then professor posed an interesting dilemma that all of us would have to face in the future.
The increasing mechanisation of the Global Economy was forcing the workforce out.
Robots would take over all the menial labour heavy tasks, and the ‘working classes’ would be made obsolete. What would the economy do with all this humanity who had masses of time on their hands and nothing to do.
Think Aldous Huxley and Brave New World.
How wrong they were!
Not about technology. That has gone bonkers. In my lifetime the idea of a communication device you could carry around in a pocket has gone from Star Trek to startlingly commonplace. Machine learning is the next big thing, and who or what knows where that will take us.
But they were wrong about the time bit. Despite all the advances in technology, it seems to me we all have less time on our hands than ever before, and more and more things to fill it. A lot of it unproductive, or downright wasteful, but entertaining and thinking how we use the precious gift of life we have been given is something we really should make a priority.
I thought this when I watched an advert broadcast on German TV 4 years ago. And I urge you to watch it too. You can do so here.
Nothing else to say really apart from spend time with those you love this Christmas.
They are your most precious gift
Merry Christmas
