'Yin and Yang' - Our Roadmap to the Future?

Travelling not only broadens the mind but provides the space to gain new perspectives on life.

I am writing this article from Chile, the Land of Earthquakes and Fire. Chile is expanding its global reach, not only in terms of agricultural produce where it provides agricultural produce globally - but also in respect of technical services who are increasingly gaining a footprint in the UK and European markets.

This is principally an article about ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’ - a Chinese concept which describes opposing but interconnected and complementary forces of nature. The idea has been around for thousands of years and is thought to represent what we might call a ‘duality of existence’. ?

But this isn’t a lesson in philosophy but rather one of observation.

What’s the Yin and Yang element of Chile that’s so interesting?

In Chile with a total population of 19.6m, about twice that of London, there are many elements of modern living that outstrip the UK in terms of the usage of technology. A third of the population live in the capital city, Santiago, and the city seems like the epicentre of their tech capabilities.

Sometimes it feels like the whole city is an innovation hub. Some compare it to the Switzerland of Latin America. It is no surprise that in the shadow of Brexit, the UK Government are encouraging Chilean companies to expand their fortunes by entering the UK tech marketplace

If technology is the ‘Yin’ of Chile, then the ‘Yang’ might be the way in which their local wine is increasingly produced ‘naturally’.

Although there will always be a place for the large exporters of wine whose labels you see on the shelves of UK supermarkets, competively priced but containing preservatives, there is an emerging market for natural, simple wines such as Echeverria produced in the foothills of the Andes.

Established in 1923, Echeverria vineyard started off as a bulk seller but became one of the first boutique exporters in Chile. A third of their production is now natural, that is, without fertilizers, additives such as added sulphites or even filtration.

At first impression, it’s unusual to be served with a slightly cloudy wine but the label shows that the makers have no pretentions, stating loudly and proudly ‘Ino es Pituko!’ or 'It's not Fancy'.

But clearly the wine is fancy enough for the best restaurants in Shanghai, California or Harrods in London. One shouldn’t underestimate their other products either, especially including their delicious Gran Reserva Carmenere based on a grape unique to Chile.

It would be wrong not to declare an interest. The owners Roberto and British-born Julia were kind enough to invite me for tasting, following an event at the Chilean Embassy in London. They explained that creating natural wine doesn’t preclude the use of automated systems for grape picking, and that sophisticated laboratories are still essential to ensure quality control.

I wonder, as we are on the cusp of technological transformation including the much-hyped and hyper-complex AI, whether there will be a counter movement, one which places greater emphasis on simplicity and naturality?

Perhaps this might be a movement where the opaqueness and complexity of computer systems and complex algorithms are complemented by transparency and simplicity in other walks of life?

How far might this counter movement extend?

The replacement of mass-produced beer by craft breweries? The return of the corner shop or the local bank branch perhaps (as we see in Chile) integrated with a coffee shop - the ‘café bank’?

None of these will prevent AI in some form or another happening. That particular genie is out of the bottle. But it feels to me that the bleak, dystopian world predicted by George Orwell and others could prove to be way off the mark in terms of what the future might look like.

Maybe the future is a combination of complex AI and good, old fashioned products and services. Is the future hybrid?

I certainly hope so. In fact - I’ll drink to that! Nothing fancy, of course!

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