Generation App
We have had the Greatest Generation, then Baby Boomers ,
then Generation X, then the Millenials. However, people are still wondering
what to call the generation born in the 21st century. I suggest the moniker “Generation App.” Why?
Because, this generation is being raised surrounded by the information
economy, and with the ubiquity of smart phones, it is an economy based on the production and accumulation of apps.
It is a generation for whom many social interactions are
mediated through an app interface. They
are also the generation that will find its peak during Kurzweil’s so-called “singularity” , where artificial
intelligence may supersede natural
intelligence. It is also a time when the meaning of being a person is changing,
as is seen by Supreme Court decisions assigning the rights of natural persons to corporations. It is a time of high-speed trading where
computer algorithms take the role of traders and decision makers. In other
words, the individuals of this
generation will be identified by their apps. Indeed, one could argue the
concepts of spirit and soul are nothing
other than algorithm and application.
This should be no surprise. Consider how at death an
individual can leave a will. What is a
will? It is a set of instruction for the
disposal of material assets, including intellectual property. An algorithm is nothing other than a set of instructions. Consider how
we understand work as applying oneself to a task. What is an application? It is a set of algorithms that can be applied
to a task.
It is this generation that will determine the future of
humanity through a cyber-world.
Whether one is ruler of the apps, or ruled by apps, we are seeing the evolution from homo
sapiens to homo applicus. We are truly turning into the planet of the
apps.
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