Will we all be living in skyscrapers in 100 years’ time? Will we be rushing from appointment to appointment in air cabs? Will lunch come from a 3D printer? To be honest, it will probably be 100 years before we can say for sure who has answered these questions correctly today. However, experts can already make reliable predictions today about the direction in which life in the city will develop in the coming decades and which technologies have what it takes to shape the city of the future and its inhabitants. For the current “+3” magazine in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, Tim Brauckmüller, member of the general board of the D21 initiative and managing partner of aconium GmbH, answers precisely this question together with other experts from politics, science and business: What will the city look like in 100 years?
His thesis: humans and machines will coexist. Whether in road traffic with automated guidance systems or in municipal administration, which will be decisively supported by artificial intelligence (AI). The coexistence of artificial and human intelligence will change the city – structurally, architecturally and in terms of traffic. However, Brauckmüller is convinced that despite all the digital progress, human intuition and experience will continue to play an important role in the distant future. Incidentally, people are already feeling the extent to which the internet and digital applications are changing their lives. And they are largely positive about this development, as the latest D21 Digital Index from the D21 initiative shows. According to the index, more than half of those surveyed (56%) believe that they personally benefit from digitalization. However, it is not just awareness of the benefits of digital change that is growing – the pace is also increasing, according to the social study supported by aconium GmbH. Not least due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic – fewer physical encounters between people, both professionally and privately – the authors of the study see 2020 as the year of digital transformation. In view of the expected coexistence of the human mind and AI, it seems all the more important to make people fit for the digital knowledge society. What is encouraging in this context is that, according to the D21 Digital Index, the proportion of people across all age groups who can keep pace with digital change and navigate the digital world with confidence is growing. Education is the key – and digitalization in the education system is of central importance to the vast majority of respondents (78%).
The D21 initiative
Around 200 companies and institutions as well as stakeholders from politics, administration, business and science have joined forces in the D21 initiative to form a network for the digital society. aconium is a long-standing partner of the non-profit association. With the D21 Digital Index, the initiative has been mapping the level of digitalization of society in Germany every year since 2013.