Translator: Marion Godefroid Reviewer: David DeRuwe
For us to talk about the future of work,
in some way,
I must share with you a stressful thing that Edgar Morin said,
"Because of the significant universe we pass through,
because of the extremely accelerated universe we pass through,"
because of the digital disruption, - and this is my edit -
"we end up having to deal with things that don't have historical precedents."
What's going on?
I won't talk about curriculum because if you still have one,
I suggest you throw it away swiftly.
At the next break, OK?
Because it doesn't matter what you did in the past
when the universe operates in a different way.
So, the question of time,
the hyper-modernity, the critical notion of time,
is what the new universe is about, it's driven by time.
The old universe distilled time.
Things were completely different from the way we live today.
Today, the traditional competitive dynamic we experience
is totally different from the way companies
in some ways, operate.
Why?
What's in the center is a very violent load of change,
similar to a neutron bomb.
We've never experienced so much continuous change,
a consequence of our exponentially shifting environment,
where we have three things we can't manage to grasp:
the exponential speed, the magnitude,
and the depth of those changes.
Never, in human history, have we experienced this.
Those changes have contributed to a radical shakeup of the work equation,
comparing with how it was in the not-so-distant past.
Companies that will survive in the 22nd century, or go from the 21st to the 22nd,
are the ones that will manage to do very simple things.
First, think digitally.
We don't. We think analogically.
Companies with a digital identity -
we can't think of any that can create a digital economy.
In some way, everybody wants to create a digital economy,
but they don't want to think digitally.
And when making the change to digital,
people and companies commit very serious crimes.
You ask, "You're changing to digital?"
The company, "Yes, I already help my customers on Facebook."
I'm not talking about that at all.
Hello, for God's sake. We're not talking about that.
Digital presence is much more than making a change to digital.
It's building bridges between physical, biological, and digital worlds,
which were formerly split apart, but are now connected.
Why do we say, today, that even the "wearables" themselves
are no longer making such an impact?
Because we're already talking about "internables,"
when we'll have things like internally worn robots.
We already don't recognize things -
in vitro meat, in vitro fish.
Are you ready to eat a steak from a cow that doesn't exist?
Are you?
I know your mind has already set a trap, saying,
"No, it tastes like the handrail of an escalator."
No.
It's a mental picture you've created because your culture doesn't permit this.
So one way or another, we'll experience radical changes in the concept of work,
and it will bring a new footprint.
In the next 20 years, according to Oxford University data,
57% of the jobs across the globe will already be performed by robots.
I hear you saying,
"Ah, so robots will take my job? Are they going to replace me?"
If you're doing a repetitive task,
I suggest you start thinking about it right now.
If you do a repetitive job,
you can be sure that robots, indeed, will replace you.
So what's ahead of us?
These professions that we're seeing - brand new ones that are very exciting.
Want to be a psychologist for robots?
Yes, they'll go crazy, but first, they'll drive us crazy.
We recently heard about crazy Facebook bots
that began speaking a language only they could understand,
a non human language.
Look, I'm going to run straight to 2032 because I'm afraid of this.
It's the truth, this is madness.
So, psychologist for robots.
When we talk about urban farmers like that, the nostalgic ones.
Why the nostalgia? Because we have two frontiers.
The more the universe turns "tech," the more "touch" we'll become;
the more technology brought in, the more human we'll become.
This is a grand paradox.
Because we think we'll be equal to robots.
We won't.
We'll even have time for living.
And this time to live ...
Do you know how to live?
(Laughter)
I really, really, really doubt anybody here knows how to live.
We do everything wrong.
We confuse employment with work, and we confuse this with our life,
and when we lose a job, we also lose our life.
Folks, there 's something really wrong with us.
No. With you, I already knew it.
(Laughter)
So the nostalgic ones will think about the past that we cherish,
the past that brings a human vision -
like how the soil smells after the rain, the enamel mug, granny's cake.
Sound familiar?
It's cooking for your friends using organic spices, isn't this it?
This is the "touch" side of our "tech" world.
In some ways, there will be, as well,
radical changes in the concept of employment.
So, what's the important message here?
"If you can't be disruptive,
be sure that someone will be for you."
What is making a disruption?
It's transforming everything you've been doing up until now
into something totally obsolete, beginning with you.
If you can't manage to do what we call "auto-hacking,"
in the middle of all this, you have no center -
if you can't do this "auto-hacking,"
that is to change yourself into something obsolete,
you won't be able to take the first step.
OK? Can you do it?
We need much less resilience and much more plasticity,
the GPS concept because people get lost without it.
You failed? You hit the wall?
Recalculate your route.
Wrong way? Recalculate your route.
We get lost looking for who did it, why it was, and when it was. Stop!
It's not taking us forward, we don't need to do this anymore.
Making mistakes is part of learning.
So fail fast, fail cheap, and learn twice as much by doing so.
It's super simple to do this.
What's ahead of us?
Way more independent professionals and way less bosses.
Folks, this is awesome because we'll get rid of bosses for good.
Click, press the button, and they disappear.
We'll have many more tutors and many fewer bosses;
mentors, also we will have.
We will move into a collaboration mode at the speed of light,
while we still have a competitive vibe.
There is no point to competition anymore.
Take a look at today's movies, the people we see as superheros -
you must watch superhero movies, too -
you'll see that none of them are about one solitary super hero.
Have you noticed?
They all attack as a group. You've seen this?
Why? Because they have complementary skills.
But if you think being a superhero is easy,
you need to be sure that every Superman has his own kryptonite,
and you'll still have to put your underwear over your pants to fly.
(Laughter)
So this isn't an easy task for us.
I need people who decentralize, not controllers.
I need people who accomplish things.
I want much less curriculum and many more intrinsic values.
When I look at you, I want to see who you are, not what you do.
I want to know what is your future "hacking" power.
If I have no historical knowledge, why would I want to see your resume?
We'll also see life and work merge together.
Work is an extension of life, your wage a consequence of it,
and the biggest influence we have is a residual from all we've achieved.
So I'm not interested in what you do, it only interests me who you are.
I'm going to connect with who you are, not with what you do.
Well, in one way or another, I wanted to tell you this.
I leave you all a great message:
let's watch out for this "tech" thing, the tech world, the world of tech,
because we think that, somehow, we'll redefine ourselves,
always around the tech world because it's trendy, it's fascinating.
If you're ready to live 500 years,
a goal for Raymond Kurzweil,
Google's vice-president of innovation and head of Google Ventures,
you must know that the fusion of man and machine
will become, increasingly, a part of our world.
This is planned for 2045, after being anticipated for 2039.
And if you like this new world,
come with us.
But don't forget that the human side
is much more important than the "tech" side.
"Tech" comes and goes all the time,
but not human connections.
Since I know you're afraid to enter this new universe,
here's a quote from Joseph Campbell, who I adore, who says,
"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."
So you'll have to decide, once and for all,
if you want to chase your dream,
and if you're going to be the one you've always wanted to be.
If you're making compromises in your work life,
you need to rethink it over.
And if there's someone who still works because he must pay the bills,
look, I brought a machine gun and will put everyone in line.
OK?
Because nowadays, we work with pleasure,
and we work with a passion for what we do.
OK?
So I leave you with this message:
Thank you for your company.
As a good human, I wish you health and peace.
Thank you.
(Applause)