Are we ready to create the future?

At the recent Web Summit 2022 in Lisbon, one of the main topics of the forum was outlined by its founder, Paddy Cosgrave. During the opening he called for work on future technologies. “The future starts right now,” he recalled. His speech echoed the speech of the mayor of the Portuguese capital – Carlos Moedas, the main message of which was the statement: ‘We decide what is possible and what is not.’

Many participants of Web Summit 2022 were ready to sign a manifesto for what Cosgrave and Moedash said. However, a declaration of intent is one thing, and real everyday life is quite another. To what extent are we ready today to use the technologies of the future to live in a “beautiful far away”?

How often do we choose to favor the technologies of the future? Let’s take the simplest example – hybrid and electric vehicles (by the way, Apple VP Lisa Jackson devoted her speech to ecology, among other topics). Why do millions of people on Earth, including those employed in the IT industry, cling to “classic” internal combustion engines? Why do they defend their position by saying that the production of hybrids causes damage to the environment no less than the operation of a car with a conventional internal combustion engine? Why do they excuse that the infrastructure for electric vehicles is less developed and less convenient? After all, put two and two together and conclude that the more people buy eco-cars, the faster they and their service system will become perfect – as easy as a pie.

Most people are conservatives. Even using high technologies, we quickly lose ourselves in the circle of familiar devices and solutions, rarely overstepping its boundaries. Let’s take a topic close to Pitch Avatar. According to statistics, the vast majority of presenters – 89% – prefer PowerPoint. Let’s rejoice for the authors of this, without reservation, excellent program (and for Microsoft in general), but basically, we note that this is a sad fact. After all, there are a huge number of other services and programs for creating, editing online presentations and projects that offer more original and bold solutions. However, a huge number of presenters do not find (or rather do not want to find) the time to do research, try new things and expand their toolbox. Why? Laziness, conformism and conservatism interfere. But there are other horses on which you can get to a successful future.