TED Salon Samsung
Douglas Rushkoff: How to be "Team Human" in the digital future
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Humans are no longer valued for our creativity, says media theorist Douglas Rushkoff -- in a world dominated by digital technology, we're now just valued for our data. In a passionate talk, Rushkoff urges us to stop using technology to optimize people for the market and start using it to build a future centered on our pre-digital values of connection, creativity and respect. "Join 'Team Human.' Find the others," he says. "Together let's make the future that we always wanted."
Douglas Rushkoff - Media theorist, author
Douglas Rushkoff promotes human autonomy in the digital age. Full bio
Douglas Rushkoff promotes human autonomy in the digital age. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
I got invited to an exclusive resort
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to deliver a talk about the digital future
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to what I assumed would be
a couple of hundred tech executives.
a couple of hundred tech executives.
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And I was there in the green room,
waiting to go on,
waiting to go on,
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and instead of bringing me to the stage,
they brought five men into the green room
they brought five men into the green room
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who sat around this little table with me.
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They were tech billionaires.
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And they started peppering me
with these really binary questions,
with these really binary questions,
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like: Bitcoin or Etherium?
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Virtual reality or augmented reality?
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I don't know if they were
taking bets or what.
taking bets or what.
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And as they got more comfortable with me,
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they edged towards
their real question of concern.
their real question of concern.
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Alaska or New Zealand?
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That's right.
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These tech billionaires
were asking a media theorist for advice
were asking a media theorist for advice
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on where to put their doomsday bunkers.
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We spent the rest of the hour
on the single question:
on the single question:
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"How do I maintain control
of my security staff
of my security staff
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after the event?"
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By "the event" they mean
the thermonuclear war
the thermonuclear war
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or climate catastrophe or social unrest
that ends the world as we know it,
that ends the world as we know it,
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and more importantly,
makes their money obsolete.
makes their money obsolete.
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And I couldn't help but think:
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these are the wealthiest,
most powerful men in the world,
most powerful men in the world,
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yet they see themselves as utterly
powerless to influence the future.
powerless to influence the future.
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The best they can do is hang on
for the inevitable catastrophe
for the inevitable catastrophe
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and then use their technology and money
to get away from the rest of us.
to get away from the rest of us.
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And these are the winners
of the digital economy.
of the digital economy.
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(Laughter)
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The digital renaissance
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was about the unbridled potential
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of the collective human imagination.
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It spanned everything
from chaos math and quantum physics
from chaos math and quantum physics
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to fantasy role-playing
and the Gaia hypothesis, right?
and the Gaia hypothesis, right?
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We believed that human beings connected
could create any future we could imagine.
could create any future we could imagine.
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And then came the dot com boom.
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And the digital future
became stock futures.
became stock futures.
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And we used all that energy
of the digital age
of the digital age
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to pump steroids into the already dying
NASDAQ stock exchange.
NASDAQ stock exchange.
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The tech magazines told us
a tsunami was coming.
a tsunami was coming.
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And only the investors who hired
the best scenario-planners and futurists
the best scenario-planners and futurists
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would be able to survive the wave.
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And so the future changed from this thing
we create together in the present
we create together in the present
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to something we bet on
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in some kind of a zero-sum
winner-takes-all competition.
winner-takes-all competition.
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And when things get that competitive
about the future,
about the future,
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humans are no longer valued
for our creativity.
for our creativity.
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No, now we're just valued for our data.
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Because they can use the data
to make predictions.
to make predictions.
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Creativity, if anything,
that creates noise.
that creates noise.
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That makes it harder to predict.
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So we ended up with a digital landscape
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that really repressed creativity,
repressed novelty,
repressed novelty,
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it repressed what makes us most human.
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We ended up with social media.
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Does social media really connect people
in new, interesting ways?
in new, interesting ways?
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No, social media is about using our data
to predict our future behavior.
to predict our future behavior.
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Or when necessary,
to influence our future behavior
to influence our future behavior
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so that we act more in accordance
with our statistical profiles.
with our statistical profiles.
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The digital economy --
does it like people?
does it like people?
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No, if you have a business plan,
what are you supposed to do?
what are you supposed to do?
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Get rid of all the people.
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Human beings, they want health care,
they want money, they want meaning.
they want money, they want meaning.
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You can't scale with people.
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(Laughter)
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Even our digital apps --
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they don't help us
form any rapport or solidarity.
form any rapport or solidarity.
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I mean, where's the button
on the ride hailing app
on the ride hailing app
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for the drivers to talk to one another
about their working conditions
about their working conditions
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or to unionize?
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Even our videoconferencing tools,
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they don't allow us
to establish real rapport.
to establish real rapport.
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However good the resolution of the video,
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you still can't see if somebody's irises
are opening to really take you in.
are opening to really take you in.
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All of the things that we've done
to establish rapport
to establish rapport
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that we've developed over hundreds
of thousands of years of evolution,
of thousands of years of evolution,
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they don't work,
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you can't see if someone's breath
is syncing up with yours.
is syncing up with yours.
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So the mirror neurons never fire,
the oxytocin never goes through your body,
the oxytocin never goes through your body,
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you never have that experience
of bonding with the other human being.
of bonding with the other human being.
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And instead, you're left like,
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"Well, they agreed with me,
but did they really,
but did they really,
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did they really get me?"
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And we don't blame the technology
for that lack of fidelity.
for that lack of fidelity.
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We blame the other person.
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You know, even the technologies
and the digital initiatives that we have
and the digital initiatives that we have
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to promote humans,
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are intensely anti-human at the core.
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Think about the blockchain.
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The blockchain is here to help us
have a great humanized economy? No.
have a great humanized economy? No.
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The blockchain does not engender
trust between users,
trust between users,
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the blockchain simply
substitutes for trust in a new,
substitutes for trust in a new,
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even less transparent way.
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Or the code movement.
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I mean, education is great,
we love education,
we love education,
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and it's a wonderful idea
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that we want kids to be able
to get jobs in the digital future,
to get jobs in the digital future,
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so we'll teach them code now.
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But since when is education
about getting jobs?
about getting jobs?
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Education wasn't about getting jobs.
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Education was compensation
for a job well done.
for a job well done.
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The idea of public education
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was for coal miners,
who would work in the coal mines all day,
who would work in the coal mines all day,
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then they'd come home
and they should have the dignity
and they should have the dignity
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to be able to read a novel
and understand it.
and understand it.
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Or the intelligence to be able
to participate in democracy.
to participate in democracy.
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When we make it an extension of the job,
what are we really doing?
what are we really doing?
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We're just letting corporations really
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externalize the cost
of training their workers.
of training their workers.
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And the worst of all really
is the humane technology movement.
is the humane technology movement.
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I mean, I love these guys,
the former guys who used to take
the former guys who used to take
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the algorithms from
Las Vegas slot machines
Las Vegas slot machines
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and put them in our social media feed
so that we get addicted.
so that we get addicted.
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Now they've seen the error of their ways
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and they want to make
technology more humane.
technology more humane.
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But when I hear the expression
"humane technology,"
"humane technology,"
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I think about cage-free
chickens or something.
chickens or something.
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We're going to be as humane
as possible to them,
as possible to them,
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until we take them to the slaughter.
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So now they're going to let these
technologies be as humane as possible,
technologies be as humane as possible,
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as long as they extract enough data
and extract enough money from us
and extract enough money from us
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to please their shareholders.
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Meanwhile, the shareholders,
for their part, they're just thinking,
for their part, they're just thinking,
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"I need to earn enough money now,
so I can insulate myself
so I can insulate myself
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from the world I'm creating
by earning money in this way."
by earning money in this way."
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(Laughter)
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No matter how many VR goggles
they slap on their faces
they slap on their faces
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and whatever fantasy world they go into,
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they can't externalize the slavery
and pollution that was caused
and pollution that was caused
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through the manufacture
of the very device.
of the very device.
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It reminds me of
Thomas Jefferson's dumbwaiter.
Thomas Jefferson's dumbwaiter.
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Now, we like to think
that he made the dumbwaiter
that he made the dumbwaiter
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in order to spare his slaves
all that labor of carrying the food
all that labor of carrying the food
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up to the dining room
for the people to eat.
for the people to eat.
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That's not what it was for,
it wasn't for the slaves,
it wasn't for the slaves,
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it was for Thomas Jefferson
and his dinner guests,
and his dinner guests,
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so they didn't have to see the slave
bringing the food up.
bringing the food up.
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The food just arrived magically,
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like it was coming out
of a "Start Trek" replicator.
of a "Start Trek" replicator.
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It's part of an ethos that says,
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human beings are the problem
and technology is the solution.
and technology is the solution.
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We can't think that way anymore.
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We have to stop using technology
to optimize human beings for the market
to optimize human beings for the market
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and start optimizing technology
for the human future.
for the human future.
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But that's a really hard argument
to make these days,
to make these days,
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because humans are not popular beings.
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I talked about this in front
of an environmentalist just the other day,
of an environmentalist just the other day,
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and she said, "Why are you
defending humans?
defending humans?
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Humans destroyed the planet.
They deserve to go extinct."
They deserve to go extinct."
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(Laughter)
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Even our popular media hates humans.
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Watch television,
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all the sci-fi shows are about how robots
are better and nicer than people.
are better and nicer than people.
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Even zombie shows --
what is every zombie show about?
what is every zombie show about?
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Some person, looking at the horizon
at some zombie going by,
at some zombie going by,
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and they zoom in on the person
and you see the person's face,
and you see the person's face,
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and you know what they're thinking:
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"What's really the difference
between that zombie and me?
between that zombie and me?
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He walks, I walk.
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He eats, I eat.
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He kills, I kill."
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But he's a zombie.
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At least you're aware of it.
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If we are actually having trouble
distinguishing ourselves from zombies,
distinguishing ourselves from zombies,
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we have a pretty big problem going on.
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(Laughter)
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And don't even get me started
on the transhumanists.
on the transhumanists.
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I was on a panel with a transhumanist,
and he's going on about the singularity.
and he's going on about the singularity.
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"Oh, the day is going to come really soon
when computers are smarter than people.
when computers are smarter than people.
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And the only option
for people at that point
for people at that point
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is to pass the evolutionary torch
to our successor
to our successor
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and fade into the background.
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Maybe at best, upload
your consciousness to a silicon chip.
your consciousness to a silicon chip.
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And accept your extinction."
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(Laughter)
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And I said, "No, human beings are special.
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We can embrace ambiguity,
we understand paradox,
we understand paradox,
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we're conscious,
we're weird, we're quirky.
we're weird, we're quirky.
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There should be a place for humans
in the digital future."
in the digital future."
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And he said, "Oh, Rushkoff,
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you're just saying that
because you're a human."
because you're a human."
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(Laughter)
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As if it's hubris.
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OK, I'm on "Team Human."
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That was the original insight
of the digital age.
of the digital age.
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That being human is a team sport,
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evolution's a collaborative act.
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Even the trees in the forest,
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they're not all in competition
with each other,
with each other,
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they're connected with the vast
network of roots and mushrooms
network of roots and mushrooms
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that let them communicate with one another
and pass nutrients back and forth.
and pass nutrients back and forth.
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If human beings
are the most evolved species,
are the most evolved species,
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it's because we have the most evolved
ways of collaborating and communicating.
ways of collaborating and communicating.
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We have language.
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We have technology.
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It's funny, I used to be the guy
who talked about the digital future
who talked about the digital future
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for people who hadn't yet
experienced anything digital.
experienced anything digital.
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And now I feel like I'm the last guy
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who remembers what life was like
before digital technology.
before digital technology.
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It's not a matter of rejecting the digital
or rejecting the technological.
or rejecting the technological.
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It's a matter of retrieving the values
that we're in danger of leaving behind
that we're in danger of leaving behind
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and then embedding them in the digital
infrastructure for the future.
infrastructure for the future.
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And that's not rocket science.
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It's as simple as making a social network
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that instead of teaching us
to see people as adversaries,
to see people as adversaries,
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it teaches us to see
our adversaries as people.
our adversaries as people.
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It means creating an economy
that doesn't favor a platform monopoly
that doesn't favor a platform monopoly
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that wants to extract all the value
out of people and places,
out of people and places,
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but one that promotes the circulation
of value through a community
of value through a community
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and allows us to establish
platform cooperatives
platform cooperatives
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that distribute ownership
as wide as possible.
as wide as possible.
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It means building platforms
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that don't repress our creativity
and novelty in the name of prediction
and novelty in the name of prediction
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but actually promote
creativity and novelty,
creativity and novelty,
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so that we can come up
with some of the solutions
with some of the solutions
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to actually get ourselves
out of the mess that we're in.
out of the mess that we're in.
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No, instead of trying to earn
enough money to insulate ourselves
enough money to insulate ourselves
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from the world we're creating,
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why don't we spend that time and energy
making the world a place
making the world a place
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that we don't feel
the need to escape from.
the need to escape from.
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There is no escape,
there is only one thing going on here.
there is only one thing going on here.
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Please, don't leave.
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Join us.
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We may not be perfect,
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but whatever happens,
at least you won't be alone.
at least you won't be alone.
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Join "Team Human."
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Find the others.
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Together, let's make the future
that we always wanted.
that we always wanted.
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Oh, and those tech billionaires
who wanted to know
who wanted to know
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how to maintain control of their
security force after the apocalypse,
security force after the apocalypse,
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you know what I told them?
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"Start treating those people
with love and respect right now.
with love and respect right now.
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Maybe you won't have
an apocalypse to worry about."
an apocalypse to worry about."
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Douglas Rushkoff - Media theorist, authorDouglas Rushkoff promotes human autonomy in the digital age.
Why you should listen
Douglas Rushkoff coined such expressions as "viral media," "digital natives" and "social currency," and advises governments, communities and businesses on the impact of technology on society's future. Named one of "the world’s ten most influential thinkers" by MIT, Rushkoff won the Marshal McLuhan Award for media writing and the Neil Postman award for Public Intellectual Activity.
Rushkoff hosts the Team Human podcast, made four PBS Frontline documentaries including Generation Like and The Merchants of Cool, and wrote many bestselling books including Team Human, Present Shock, Program or Be Programmed and Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus. He founded the Laboratory for Digital Humanism at CUNY/Queens College, where he is professor of media theory and digital economics.
Douglas Rushkoff | Speaker | TED.com