Consumers v Creators
Have you seen the Disney/Pixar movie WallE?
It's about a cute robot who is left on earth to clean up the awful mess humans have left behind.
Meanwhile, the humans that left earth float round in a spaceship courtesy of a corporation, developed into overweight slobs, plugged into screens showing them endless advertisements, holographic announcements, and social updates from the Buy n Large corporation.
The constant screen time keeps passengers distracted and buying useless stuff they will never use.
It's never mentioned where they get the money to buy stuff from, but the fact they consume junk food and junk content 24/7 tells us they do not actually earn money because no one works - they have an automated corporate system where everything is paid for through a continuous cycle of corporate credits and infinite debt.
Since BnL robots do all the work it costs the company nothing to produce goods. Giving humans "free" credit to buy things simply serves as a psychological trick to keep the population compliant, comfortable, and addicted to constant consumption.
If you ever make your brain hurt and think about stuff like this (like I do) - you'll see parallels with today, yesterday and the future.
You can see the rails being made now, if you understand the bigger picture.
It kind of reminded me of lockdown. It was hard for many.
But at the same time many people received 'credits' printed out of thin air - stimulus checks, furlough payments from the governement - because their jobs shut down with the economy.
For the majority that 'free money' was a way to spend and consume.
People splurged on Amazon, Netflix, Pelotons, and Uber eats deliveries, while zoom, and social media went into overdrive usage. Buy n Large in real life - buy, and get larger!
The people that made these decisions, 'Consumers' - when lockdown ended they went back to the way things were before. They'd had a nice lockdown, but they'd spent all the money. And now everything was more expensive (inflation), and stressful. It hasn't let up since for many.
For others - 'Creators' they took the lockdown pause as an opportunity. Some spent time learning new skills. Starting new business. Understanding investments. (Bitcoin was less than $4,000!). These decisions changed many peoples lives after lockdown ended. New skills, new wealth, new opportunities.
Most people don't realise that fiction is becoming fact. The humans in WallE are just exagerrated versions of earths citizens today. That another crisis looks to be on the cards like the pandemic. And the same opportunity presents itself today and throughout whatever happens next.
We can all choose to be Consumers or Creators of our future.
It just starts with inspiration, awareness and support. And maybe a spark to see its there.
Its why we say harnessing AI today is like buying Bitcoin in 2014.
Its why developing an entrepreneurial mindset today is the way to protect your tomorrow.
Its why you won't lose your job or business to AI, but you will lose it to someone else who knows how to use it.
So become a creator.
Your future self will thank you.