Project Vision 21

I recently had to change one of the outlets in my basement, a quick and easy task that I had done many times before. I removed the old plug and put in the new one, paying attention to see that each wire was in the correct connection. However, to my astonishment and annoyance, there was no electricity at that outlet.

I did what every wise person does in similar situations: I searched the Internet for a solution and thus learned that certain new plugs require the wires to be connected in reverse of the connections that the old plugs had. In other words, for the electricity to arrive, it is necessary to invert the connections.

That situation seemed similar to what happens when we try to connect with the new future, a future that is neither a continuity of the past nor a repetition of the present. In short, when we meet the problems of the past and the challenges of the present with the knowledge and habits of the past, we do not let the energy of the future flow.

In other words, the point of connection with the new future will in all probability turn out to be the moment in which we agree to let go of those connections already established (even unconscious connections) to establish new connections, so new that they will force us to “reverse” our way of thinking and acting.

Let's be honest: the new future looks terrifying. It could be said that before the future was viewed with fear because it represented the unknown and now, we look fearfully at the future precisely because we can anticipate what is going to happen or what is highly likely to happen.

A recent report published by the United Nations Development Program speaks of a "new uncertainty" about the future of the world, a kind of existential uncertainty that causes "unstable lives" and "mental suffering", thus stopping human development both on a personal, social, and global level.

More specifically, the uncertainty, says the United Nations report, has become "multidimensional", due to the increase in insecurity, the growing armed conflicts, the complex social transitions, and the planetary danger of climate change.

Other elements that could add to that “multi-layered uncertainty” include (I add) those “technological nightmares” that seem to be the basis of a “terrifying future”.

A recent publication by the Digital Policy & Law Group (DPL News, in Mexico) lists, among those nightmares, malevolent artificial intelligence, killer robots, swarms of spy or destroyer drones, attacks in cyberspace, self-driving cars”, cyborgs, animals with superior mental powers, and massive and constant surveillance.

While all this is happening (none of this is science fiction), we keep trying to connect to a past from which energy no longer flows and we refuse to prepare to connect to the new future, just because we don't want to change our way of thinking.

But, as the United Nations report properly emphasizes, uncertainty is the perfect time to "enhance and expand human development."