The director of research for Bell Laboratories envisions a world in which there will be a mass reduction of the labor force which, in turn, will create a culture of nomadic information workers who will carry their offices wherever their tasks will take them. “We are the first generation in human history where knowledge will change more than once in a lifetime. In the past, with each new generation, knowledge was gained and the torch was passed. What we havenÕt figured out yet is what happens when your knowledge becomes obsolete at age 38.”
Predictor: Penzias, Arno
Prediction, in context:In a September 1995 article in Insight on the News, journalist Gayle M.B. Hanson offers predictions she gathered from futurists, policy analysts and administrators. The article includes material culled from the Internet and direct interviews, including some remarks made by Nobel winner Arno Penzias. Hanson writes: ”Among those who hold that technology offers promise for societal improvement is Nobel laureate Arno Penzias. In his most recent book, ‘Harmony: Business, Technology and Life After Paperwork,’ the director of research for Bell Laboratories envisions a world in which there will be a mass reduction of the labor force which, in turn, will create a culture of nomadic information workers who will carry their offices wherever their tasks will take them. ‘We are the first generation in human history where knowledge will change more than once in a lifetime,’ he tells Insight. ‘In the past, with each new generation, knowledge was gained and the torch was passed. What we havenÕt figured out yet is what happens when your knowledge becomes obsolete at age 38.'”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Insight on the News
Title, headline, chapter name: Paved With Fool’s Gold?
Quote Type: Partial quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 33
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne