The Elysium Effect (The grim effect of technology)

 Based on the Encyclopaedia Britannica and Wikipedia, Elysium, in Greek mythology was originally the paradise to which heroes on whom the gods conferred immortality were sent. Only those specially favored by the gods entered Elysium and were made immortal. The righteous and the heroic would remain there after death, to live a blessed and happy life indulging in whatever employment they had enjoyed in life. The 2013 science fiction movie “Elysium” portrayed a future image of the Elysium Effect, where it represented the social class issues and differences.

Some of you reading the first paragraph may wonder what this has to do with technology or indeed the present. Elysium in the present circumstances is about the few, whether these are people, corporations or countries. These few are the ones holding the power, money or privileges against the many. If we step back in reflection, we will realize that the Elysium Effect is happening today and is becoming stronger and more apparent as technology continues to evolve relentlessly.

 To offer some context, two years ago I published the article, EU’s fundamental problem & the similarities against a Local vs a Global ERP Implementation, at that time it was a simple comparison of two totally different domains and topics. However, since publishing that article, three major political events worthwhile mentioning took place of which two of them, proved in effect the key points of my article which were absence of solidarity and lack of effective communication, both outcomes linked to the fact that the Elysium Effect is evolving and spreading.

The First political event took place in Greece: Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the early morning of 27 June 2015 surprised everyone by announced that a referendum was to take place to decide whether Greece was to accept the bailout conditions in the country's government-debt crisis proposed by a troika of the EC, IMF and ECB. The referendum took place on 5 July 2015. The bailout conditions were rejected by a majority of over 61% as opposed to 39% approving the proposal of the Troika. The "NO" vote came first in all of Greece's regions. However, although the majority of the people voted No, the Greek parliament ignored it and accepted a bailout package that contained larger pension cuts and higher tax increases than the one originally rejected by Greek voters in the referendum.

 The Second political event took place almost a year later: The British Prime Minister David Cameron promised in January 2013 that, should his party win the 2015 general election, the Government would negotiate more favorable arrangements for continuing British membership of the EU before holding a referendum on whether the UK should remain in or leave the EU. David Cameron kept his promise after becoming prime minister, and on 23 June 2016, the “BREXIT” referendum took place, the outcome being 51.9% of voters voting in favour of leaving the EU. Unlike the Greek Government, the British government respected the choice made by the British people and on 29 March 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May activated the official mechanism that will make the BREXIT a reality.

 The Third and final political event took place on Tuesday, 8 November 2016, where businessman Donald Trump became 45th President of the USA, although his opponent Hillary Clinton received about 2.9 million more votes nationwide, Trump won 30 states worth a total of 306 electors and became President. Donald Trump's main slogan was to “Make America Great Again” which was appealing to middle class voters. One of his promises during his campaign was that he was going to build a 3,500 km long wall along the border between the US and Mexico.

 The commonalities of these 3 major political events were: Voters were misinformed and also lacked knowledge/awareness of economic market trends. In addition they were fed with false promises. On the other hand though, there was “arrogance”, and a lack of effort and effective communication from the opposing parties that eventually lost. The winning leaders/campaigners, made unrealistic promises and managed to secure the public vote from people who either favoured protectionism, nationalism, or who were against the perceived rich/elite whom they thought responsible for the adverse impact on their lives by either automation or by jobs outsourced to other countries. Stripping down to the fundamental root cause of these effects though, was that societies & people have been unable to understand and keep up with the changes and constantly adapt (personally or professionally) to the new ways of life, where automation and technologies are embedded in everything we do.

 There have been many publications about the threats of Automation and many economists have issued warnings that Protectionism is on the rise and for the time being this trend will continue to do so. The 4th Industrial Revolution is happening now and it is rising exponentially; In addition we have to consider that is happening at a period where 5 generations are working at the same time; Traditionalists (pre-1946), Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964), Generation X (1965 – 1976), Millennials or Generation Y (1977 – 1997) and Generation Z (after 1997). It means that most of the elders of society might find it difficult to understand or keep up with the technological trends (but have influenced the careers of future generations), while the generations that are familiar with the new wave of technologies and are full of energy and passion, might not really care about the short/medium term consequences their “technological based” actions have to the elder ones – their aim is to disrupt and change the world (start by utilizing the Gig Economy, but aiming at becoming Unicorns and eventually, Elysiums).

 The two major trends of the 4th Industrial Revolution that will accelerate the Elysium Effect are Automation and Reshoring of Services & Manufacturing. What this means is that Automation will allow companies to optimize their internal Business processes and by doing so these companies will become more competitive. In addition, the latest technologies will allow them to reshore their activities and operations. Consequently, countries that have developed an outsourcing services/manufacturing workforce e.g. India, Philippines, Mexico, etc. will become outdated and this will eventually put pressure into these countries social welfare services and eventually their stability. Mass migration may be the result. Companies that embrace digital technologies and automation faster will prevail over their competitors (across the Globe). However, they will not be able to create enough jobs to absorb the surplus labour force available and thus unemployment of skilled and unskilled workers will inevitably rise. Protectionism will also be on the rise because the developed countries (“the Elysiums”) will try to keep immigrants (victims of social arrests, wars and those who will be unable to find jobs in their own countries) out and try to fill jobs available with their own citizens (eg US, UK, and others).

 The Elysium effect happens not only across countries, but also within continents, states, cities and corporations e.g. West vs. East, within the US or within the EU. The Elysium effect pushes societies into extreme actions that might eventually lead into social as well geopolitical instabilities or even wars!

A few examples of Elysiums:

·     Mayfair and Knightsbridge are the Elysium districts of London for the rest of the London’s citizens

·     Miraflores are the Elysium districts of many South American cities

·     Silicon Valley is the Elysium for Technology professionals

·     Amazon has become the Elysium of retail

·     Google has become the Elysium of Information and Search

·     Large cities like London, New York, Shanghai are the Elysiums for the rest of those country’s population

·     UK, Germany, Switzerland are the Elysiums of Europe

·     Europe, US, Canada, Australia are the Elysiums for all the Immigrants from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, South and Central America.

·     And finally based on Elon Musk's recent manifesto to colonize Mars; in a few decades, Mars might become the Elysium for the rest of us here on Earth.

 We all know the term “Life Isn't Fair” however, before starting pointing the finger and blaming others (including the Elysiums), please remember that 3 fingers look back at you. Which raises the question, what have I, as an INDIVIDUAL done for myself or for my family or within a company or within a city or within the country that I live in? What have I, as a LEADER responsible for a team, or of a company, or of a city, or of a region, or of a state, or of a country done to communicate and raise the awareness and knowledge of my people? And finally what have I done as an Owner of a company, to address and adjust my company’s strategy to prepare and adapt to these changes?  

Some suggestion:

As an individual, before casting a vote to favour extreme parties, think of the potential consequences of your actions (have a look at the past). Why do you admire and embrace the Elysiums? From development side, although you are busy (or unemployed), enhance your communication and emotional intelligence skills; try to familiarize yourself with the new trends that at least directly impact you? What effects do these trends have for you personally or at your work (digitization will impact ALL jobs and ALL industries) now or in a few years from now. What career advice are you planning to give to your children if you are not preparing yourself for the future? If you do understand these trends why you do you not act on them? Complacency is the enemy, try to challenge yourself (e.g. change careers or jobs when needed, relocate, be creative, be innovative, take initiatives etc), communicate and discuss your technological findings and concerns with your friends, colleagues or your boss. If nothing works, how are you planning to navigate yourself in this setting? Are you preparing to change? Do not be afraid to try new things, mess-up and perhaps fail. Be RESILIENT!

 As a leader of a team or leader/owner of company, again try to familiarize yourself with the new trends, if you do understand them and try to embrace Digitization and Automation. If you claim people is your greatest asset, consider the pace of introduction and try to incorporate the needs of all 5 generations, because if you exclude the elder ones (displace them or not train them), they might “punish” you eventually indirectly (loss of spending power, hold strikes, vote for extreme parties etc.). Embracing Digitization within is fine, but do you have an open mind to look for disruptors, new threats and entrants (remember Kodak and Blackberry)? Do you monitor the competition as well as the impact the 4th Industrial Revolution has across the entire Value Chain your company operates into (eg Retail, Telecoms, Automotive, Energy, etc)? As a leader are you motivated to make a change? Do you encourage and empower your employees to take initiatives? Do you embrace failure? Do you actively listen? Do you care?

 As a leader of a city, a region, a state or a country, have you familiarized yourself with the new Digital trends? Do you want to be disrupted (if not why not)? How do you raise the awareness and knowledge of your own people? What is your long term (Digital) strategy, what is your communication plan? What is your country’s value proposition and niche, do you need to change strategy altogether for the sake of your citizens? How do other countries/states respond to these changes? There are some notable examples (positive change did happen, although not within pure Democratic context) like Singapore, Dubai, Qatar, Japan (in 1954) and South Korea (in 1960s) that have seen the need to change and their leaders have taken actions. However, the most notable present example of country’s transformational shift of strategy is China. A couple of years ago the Leaders of China announced that China will change its past strategy that was concentrating internally on heavy capital investment and labour force expansion and focus into a model that will lead to productivity efficiency, innovation and consumption and therefore into high value added export products. A few prominent examples of Chinese companies and brands that have started to produce high value added export products and compete against established brands are DJI - Drones, OnePlus - Mobile Phones, Alibaba - Amazon of China, Huawei - Telecoms, Haier - Consumer Electronics, etc.

 “True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it” Karl R. Popper

 Finally, in (Hyper)capitalistic society we live in, as a leader of an Elysium, for example, a corporation what are the actual limits of success? What size are you aim at? Is it to become a one, two or three Trillion dollar business? Or as a country/state leader what are the criteria of success? Is protectionism the answer? Is it to become the wealthiest nation and be the best run state for your own citizens? But the moral question you need to ask yourself is: At the expense of WHOM?     

 To conclude: We live in a world that is in a continuous state of flux and inequalities grow day by day. Five different generations work and coexist at the same time. Most of the people that constitute these generations (except perhaps the recent two) are not ready or understand (except a few) the impact the 4th industrial revolution has on their everyday lives. Because they do not understand, they try to “protect” themselves and protect the way they live/work by following and voting for leaders that might lead societies to extremes (far right, far left, protectionisms, raising walls, etc). Many (country, regional, corporations, etc) leaders on the other hand are not equipped to understand these changes or do not know how to respond. Most of them make false claims and promises. Therefore it is down to the individual to learn, change or redirect oneself and if possible teach the people around her/him. Nevertheless, as the saying goes, knowledge is power and those who do understand and embrace the full potential of technologies overcome and decimate competition and create Elysiums.

 Evidence of solidarity is more important than ever, it is also the duty of each one of us to raise our self-awareness as well as to educate the people around us. Leaders of Elysiums need to reflect on their wider social responsibilities. If we as individuals do not change attitudes, extreme imbalances are created i.e. The Elysium Effect and these imbalances might lead to extreme actions (disappearance of middle class, social unrest, mass migrations, wars). Consequently, if we are not willing to change ourselves and help those around us that find it difficult to do so, then perhaps, during the time when Elon Mask manages to colonize Mars like in the move, Wall-E and Eve i.e. just robots might be the only ones remaining on earth!