What I learned about future innovation from a 3-year-old girl. The little one probably equated me to a two-legged human-like dinosaur.
The toddler was standing in front of the TV visibly annoyed. It took me a few moments to assess and understand the reason.
She was trying to touch the next YouTube video, but it was not working. Unfortunately, my TV is not touch-enabled like her tablet.
The parents told me that they did not have a TV at their home, it was all tablets and phones.
I was the proud owner of the LG Magic remote, the little one was not impressed with the technology setup at my home, my living room was akin to an excavation zone in an archaeological site.
By her standards, the magic remote is an antique piece worthy of displaying in the Louvre Museum or British Museum.
I suspect there is a market for a touch-free hand gesture-enabled vision pro-type remote technology for TV. LG, please let toddlers interact with your product designers.
Dare I say that when I was her age there was no TV at my home. When we eventually got one, I was “the remote” for my family, walking up to the TV and turning the knob to change the channel (there were only 2 channels in India DD1 and DD2 Metro).
It was Black and White. No, No, it was not a monochrome filter.
My 10-year-old self would not have even imagined the future life I am living now even in the wildest of dreams.
What about the next 20 years?
Prophecy and fortune-telling have always been popular but it has always turned out to be smoke and mirrors or superstition. I do not want to be another charlatan.
The future is inherently unknowable but what I do know is that the future is dictated combination of 3 factors
1. Physical laws of nature
2. Accumulated human knowledge
3. Unrealistic aspirations
There is no shortage of #2 and #3. For 2000 years humans travelled continents to access libraries at Alexandria or Nalanda in pursuit of knowledge.
1995 marked a turning point after the birth of the commercial internet, you can learn about anything under the sun in your home.
Wear your seatbelt, tech is going to unleash a wild and innovative future.
Note:
We asked the 3-year-old about her favourite toy, and the reply was – Mum’s phone.
The mobile has become a favourite universal toy across all age groups. My teenage son complains about screen time restrictions, his defence being grand mom’s screen time is 3x more.
You can read all my “Notes to Self” at view all blogs.
