Change has become one of the most fundamental facts of modern societies. Technological evolution is undoubtedly one of the main drivers of the transformations we are experiencing, but it is certainly not the only one. Immigration, social diversity, personal mobility, market competition, financialization of the economy, climate, etc.: life is changing and becoming more complex from day to day. All these phenomena have a very real impact on people's daily lives.
Not only are we living in a unique period of change, but the pace of this change continues to accelerate. The law coined by Intel's Greg Moore (referred to in one of my previous posts) posits that microprocessor capacity doubles every two years, thus paving the way for a potentially exponential development of techno applications!
From the first traces of stone tools about 2.5 million years ago and the mastery of fire 450,000 years before our time, to the start of agriculture about 10,000 years ago and the invention of the wheel 5,500 years ago, we can see that technological progress was much slower historically than it is now.
And this is equally true of information dissemination. After the arrival of the Gutenberg press and its movable metal type in 1452, we had to wait until 1894 for the invention of the radio, 1926 for television, 1938 for the computer, 1981 for the PC (IBM) and 1989 for the Internet (world wide web).
Since then, however, technological "progress" has obviously picked up speed. In the very near future, we expect a widespread Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, blockchains and quantum cryptography (ouch)! And the pace of innovation will only accelerate (Moore's law again).
In parallel with technology, the social fabric is also radically changing before our eyes. Wars, endemic poverty and climate change are driving populations in many parts of the world to migrate to Western countries where life is easier. This migratory burden creates identity problems for local populations, thus feeding the rise of populist movements.
All this, let's not forget, is compounded by the destruction caused by climate change.
The purpose here is not to enumerate all the challenges facing us today, but to present the context in which to interpret the results of this week's survey question.
This week's topic addresses people's attitudes towards change. With we present them with the statement "Change is part of the problem. It's very hard to keep up with," one in two Canadians agree (50%) with it, while one in two disagrees. The Canadian population is surprisingly divided on this issue, and the reality it describes, Thus, half of us "suffer" change as casualties of our era, while the other half see the opportunities for society and for themselves, personally, multiplying into the future.
Note that there is very little regional variation on this issue, with the exception of Quebec. Given the province's legendary "joie de vivre," Quebecers are almost ten points more enthusiastic about change than people in the rest of the country (57% of Quebecers disagree with the statement versus 48% who agree).