Communication technologies will continue to destroy the need for human manual and mental labor in the production, distribution, and repair of most goods, and many services, humans want. This will, on the one hand, make it impossible for most people to find a job, even if they want one, and eventually will require all of us to reorient the purpose of our lives away from work for wages or profits to something else – probably to environmental protection and amelioration. At the same time – again, barring too rapid social disintegration – these communication technologies will continue to transform the meaning and effect of time and place. For those whose labor is still needed, it will no longer be necessary or often even desirable to go to work … the work can and should come to you … And so will education, and soon, I can assure you, so will governance.
Predictor: Dator, Jim
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 speech at the Second National Conference: Looking Into the Future: Relations Between the U.S. and American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, May 27, 1994, Washington, D.C., titled “The New World Economic Order: Implications for Insular Areas,” futurist Jim Dator says: ”In the meantime, barring especially rapid social disintegration, current and impending communication technologies will continue to destroy the need for human manual and mental labor in the production, distribution, and repair of most goods, and many services, humans want. This will, on the one hand, make it impossible for most people to find a job, even if they want one, and eventually will require all of us to reorient the purpose of our lives away from work for wages or profits to something else – probably to environmental protection and amelioration. At the same time – again, barring too rapid social disintegration – these communication technologies will continue to transform the meaning and effect of time and place. For those whose labor is still needed, it will no longer be necessary or often even desirable to go to work. Travelling to urban centers is no longer necessary. Instead the work can and should come to you down Vice President Gore’s Information Superhighway. And so will education, and soon, I can assure you, so will governance.”
Biography:Jim Dator was a futurist who is credited with founding the first Future Studies program in 1971. He has been director of the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies at the University of Hawaii. (Futurist/Consultant.)
Date of prediction: May 27, 1994
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: Employment
Name of publication: Second National Conference: Looking Into the Future: Relations Between the U.S. and American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, May 27, 1994, Washington, D.C.
Title, headline, chapter name: The New World Economic Order: Implications for Insular Areas
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.futures.hawaii.edu/dator/governance/Newworldorder.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney