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Resources - The Digital Dystopia
In order to track our central thesis that the world is moving online, we have established a resources page with third-party and internal articles, studies and information about the emerging Metaverse. We hope this opens up new conceptual methods of monitoring, qualifying and preparing for the digital dystopia and the wider forecasts about our digital future. We will be adding materials here on an ad hoc basis.
Digital will Surpass Reality
Our central thesis is that the digital world is becoming so attractive that it will soon surpass the physical world in terms of efficiency, value, immersion and physical-digital interface. Combined with bioengineering, the very existence of humanity and reality will change.
Digital Transactions have already been Transformed
Entire sectors have been transformed by digital transformation. In order for our "Digital to Surpass Reality" central forecast to be true, we have set an operating guideline that at least 51% of all transactions (or meaningful activity) in a sector should take place online.
The Future is Digital Immersion and Augmented / Virtual Reality
Augmented and virtual reality will change the say we interact inside and outside the digital world. Inside the digital world will be far more seductive, empowering, and rich in terms of experience and self-validation. Big data and machine learning / AI will push services and products to us, rather than us pulling them.
Stay Nadella: Twitter, 2 November 2021
Facebook wants to build a metaverse. Microsoft is creating something even more ambitious
Mark Wilson: Fast Company, 2 November 2021
Philip Ammerman: Navigator Consulting, 29 October 2021
The Metaverse: What It Is, Where to Find it, Who Will Build It, and Fortnite
Matthew Ball: MatthewBall.vc, 13 January 2020
Human Relationships and Social Structure will Change Irrevocably
Our relationships with other humans will become even more distorted. We will opt-in to relationships, rather than having these as the default setting. Because the digital world will be more attractive, we will spend 60-80% of our waking time there, and prefer control over our environment rather than messy human interaction of any kind: family, couple, work, social.
Economic Relationships and Stratification
Society will further accrete into classes. The rush to consolidate the emerging digital future will create tremendous wealth for the few. It will also create a demand for new digital skills and professions. But a large number of people will not be able to adapt. This will lead to a furthering of inequality in terms of income, education and social mobility. It will also lead to the emergence of a permanent underclass that will require new forms of political control.
The Emerging Digital Underclass
These unskilled or semi-skilled citizens will probably account for anywhere between 30-50% of the population in the "developed" world. They will be tightly controlled, with a limited voting franchise, struggling to stay in housing, working in bad jobs that cannot be automated, receiving some form of state support in return for being “productive” members of the system. The debate about universal income is probably destined to turn into a tarnished handcuff for this class.
Bioengineering and the Human Species
The digital dystopia described here will only increase as humans increasingly rely on genetic therapies, biochemistry hacking, or technical implants to improve human performance. This will only serve to increase the divide between rich and poor, and between the digital underclass and the elite.
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