Saturday, April 08, 2006
Life 2.0 in Ireland
Rich Karlgaard is the publisher of Forbes Magazine and the author of a regular column “Digital Rules”.
Over the past decade he has observed a trend in the US, which has seen a growing number of experienced and successful entrepreneurs abandoning the traditional technology hotspots of San Francisco, Boston and the other major costal cities. These entrepreneurs are heading for smaller cities and towns located in the American heartland.
In his book Life 2.0, he tells the stories of some of the entrepreneurs who have made this choice and how they and their families have benefited professionally and personally.
Andrew Field is one such entrepreneur. He runs a very successful dot.com-business in Montanna, one of America’s least populated states. His business printingforless.com links customers wanting high-volume full-color printing runs, with the owners of the very expensive presses needed for such jobs. Since moving to Montana, Andrew and his family have built a house near Yellowstone national park, participate fully in the life of their local town Livingston, and they feel they experience a better quality of life.
Connie Paraskeva is a specialist in development issues who works with her clients dotted around the world from her home in Bismark, North Dakota. Having moved from Washington back to the town in which she was raised, not only is she able to continue to grow her business but also to look after her elderly mother. Every couple of months she hops on a plane and travels to Washington, or to the countries around the world where she is managing projects. Overall she also feels her quality of life has improved significantly.
There are a number of factors why this trend is being observed.
First, is the widespread availability of broadband and low-cost air travel. The availability of broadband not only allows Andrew Field to receive and send documents for printing, but also allows Connie Paraskeva to use email to effectively manage projects across many time-zones. The availability of low-cost air travel means that they can both go and see clients when necessary.
Second, the cost of establishing and operating a business in the smaller cities and towns in the American heartland is significantly lower. One important reason for this is that employees can accept lower salaries, while still being able to afford a house and to send their children to college. Another, is the substantially lower cost of professional and other services needed to setup and grow a business.
Third, the quality of life is generally enhanced. A major factor is the lower cost of living, which ensures that despite earning lower salaries they are better off. Often this allows one spouse commit to being full-time in the home, or allows a decision to start a family.
Fourth, is the closing of the sophistication gap. Many people who have made this transition have remarked upon the fact that having come to live in a smaller city or town, with greater disposable income and more free time they have been much more active in the cultural and artistic life of their new home. At the same time, the increased availability of national and international media, the opening of high quality restaurants and cafes and the growth local cultural and artistic activity have brought many of the advantages of living in a big city to where they live.
What opportunities do these factors and the trend they support imply for us here in Ireland.
For one, they imply an opportunity for communities in the more remote parts of this country, in partnership with the economic development agencies, to build a sustainable economic development strategy that protects and promotes their traditional values and the natural beauty of their surroundings.
This strategy should seek to target successful entrepreneurs who wish to share in the values and beauty of their community and to build a business there. By their very nature, these businesses will have strong ties to the local community, and will offer the prospect of long term economic benefits.
It should be noted that this strategy is also fully aligned with the interests of agriculture and tourism, both of which will be sustained by preserving the traditional values and natural beauty of these communities. In this context it is interesting that a recent survey found that visitors to Ireland were disappointed that, increasingly, Ireland looked like many other places they might choose to visit.
It should also be noted, however, that in order for communities to exploit this opportunity significant investment will be needed in broadband infrastructure. Also in the road infrastructure that connects these communities to the regional centres and airport
So next time a traditional industry closes in Donegal or Leitrim, with the loss of jobs and the hardship this means for these individuals and their families, the local elected officials and business leaders might reflect before they demand that the Minister and the IDA find them a drop-in replacement.
Instead, they might consider demanding that the government knock down the closed plant and build the wired luxury homes and state-of-the-art national schools that will attract the growing number of entrepreneurs seeking to experience the enhanced quality of life to be found in such communities.
Donald Fitzmaurce
Over the past decade he has observed a trend in the US, which has seen a growing number of experienced and successful entrepreneurs abandoning the traditional technology hotspots of San Francisco, Boston and the other major costal cities. These entrepreneurs are heading for smaller cities and towns located in the American heartland.
In his book Life 2.0, he tells the stories of some of the entrepreneurs who have made this choice and how they and their families have benefited professionally and personally.
Andrew Field is one such entrepreneur. He runs a very successful dot.com-business in Montanna, one of America’s least populated states. His business printingforless.com links customers wanting high-volume full-color printing runs, with the owners of the very expensive presses needed for such jobs. Since moving to Montana, Andrew and his family have built a house near Yellowstone national park, participate fully in the life of their local town Livingston, and they feel they experience a better quality of life.
Connie Paraskeva is a specialist in development issues who works with her clients dotted around the world from her home in Bismark, North Dakota. Having moved from Washington back to the town in which she was raised, not only is she able to continue to grow her business but also to look after her elderly mother. Every couple of months she hops on a plane and travels to Washington, or to the countries around the world where she is managing projects. Overall she also feels her quality of life has improved significantly.
There are a number of factors why this trend is being observed.
First, is the widespread availability of broadband and low-cost air travel. The availability of broadband not only allows Andrew Field to receive and send documents for printing, but also allows Connie Paraskeva to use email to effectively manage projects across many time-zones. The availability of low-cost air travel means that they can both go and see clients when necessary.
Second, the cost of establishing and operating a business in the smaller cities and towns in the American heartland is significantly lower. One important reason for this is that employees can accept lower salaries, while still being able to afford a house and to send their children to college. Another, is the substantially lower cost of professional and other services needed to setup and grow a business.
Third, the quality of life is generally enhanced. A major factor is the lower cost of living, which ensures that despite earning lower salaries they are better off. Often this allows one spouse commit to being full-time in the home, or allows a decision to start a family.
Fourth, is the closing of the sophistication gap. Many people who have made this transition have remarked upon the fact that having come to live in a smaller city or town, with greater disposable income and more free time they have been much more active in the cultural and artistic life of their new home. At the same time, the increased availability of national and international media, the opening of high quality restaurants and cafes and the growth local cultural and artistic activity have brought many of the advantages of living in a big city to where they live.
What opportunities do these factors and the trend they support imply for us here in Ireland.
For one, they imply an opportunity for communities in the more remote parts of this country, in partnership with the economic development agencies, to build a sustainable economic development strategy that protects and promotes their traditional values and the natural beauty of their surroundings.
This strategy should seek to target successful entrepreneurs who wish to share in the values and beauty of their community and to build a business there. By their very nature, these businesses will have strong ties to the local community, and will offer the prospect of long term economic benefits.
It should be noted that this strategy is also fully aligned with the interests of agriculture and tourism, both of which will be sustained by preserving the traditional values and natural beauty of these communities. In this context it is interesting that a recent survey found that visitors to Ireland were disappointed that, increasingly, Ireland looked like many other places they might choose to visit.
It should also be noted, however, that in order for communities to exploit this opportunity significant investment will be needed in broadband infrastructure. Also in the road infrastructure that connects these communities to the regional centres and airport
So next time a traditional industry closes in Donegal or Leitrim, with the loss of jobs and the hardship this means for these individuals and their families, the local elected officials and business leaders might reflect before they demand that the Minister and the IDA find them a drop-in replacement.
Instead, they might consider demanding that the government knock down the closed plant and build the wired luxury homes and state-of-the-art national schools that will attract the growing number of entrepreneurs seeking to experience the enhanced quality of life to be found in such communities.
Donald Fitzmaurce
More Human Less Human
At a recent conference in London, organized by the think-tank DEMOS and the Welcome Trust, the topic was the politics of human enhancement and life extension.
Human enhancement describes a family of related technological developments, including drugs and implants, which will significantly enhance mental and physical performance. Life extension relates to the drive to understand and slow the process of aging.
Much of what is written and talked about in respect of these topics describe futures, which are populated by designer babies who grow in to super-intelligent super-athletes with a life expectancy of well over a hundred years.
While it is certain that we are many decades from such a possible future, it is no longer certain that such a future will not come to pass.
This possible future is being made more likely by the emergence and convergence of key enabling technologies; including biotechnology, information technology and nanotechnology. Together these technologies offer the real prospect of developing drugs and devices that will alter our bodies allowing them demonstrate enhanced performance for longer.
One high-profile actor in this future is the US Army, supported by leading US universities, which is funding programs such as the Future Force Warrior. A particular focus of this program is on enhancing the mental and physical abilities of the soldier and on negating the adverse effects of stress and fatigue. It has been said that if the US military could operate at peak performance for a two-day period that they could win any war.
Another high-profile advocate of this possible future is Aubrey de Grey. He is a researcher at Cambridge who believes that it will soon be possible to control the biochemical processes in our bodies that lead to aging, and that this will result in our living much longer. He has even gone so far to suggest progress in this field will be so rapid, that the first person to live to the age of a thousand may already have been born.
However we ourselves are not innocent bystanders, as evidenced by the increasing use of plastic surgery to enhance our appearance and drugs to improve our exam performance.
The number of people seeking plastic surgery in the UK has increased dramatically, with operations in BUPA hospitals up by 32% last year. The British Association of Aesthetic Surgeons reported an overall increase of 50%, with the number of men undergoing procedures more than doubling. In case we feel this trend does not apply here, Irish based aesthetic surgeons are all increasing capacity ahead of an expected SSIA bonanza.
The US National Institute of Drug Abuse recently reported that more than 5% of students in the final year of high school were abusing methyphenidate (Ritalin). It also estimated that about one in six of these students stole Ritalin from fellow students who had been prescribed this drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Their willingness to abuse this prescription drug stems from experimental and anecdotal evidence that it can significantly improve exam performance. In light of these developments, many eminent educators are suggesting that it is only a matter of time before students, like athletes, are tested for performance enhancing drugs.
While we may not be happy the US military is investing in enhanced human capacity to fight a war, the same research will also contribute to enhancing the performance of a pilot flying a plane that has developed engine trouble or a surgeon undertaking a long and difficult life-saving operation.
While we may be hugely concerned at the implications for all living things on this planet of significantly increased human life-expectancy, it is very likely that most of use would welcome the increase quality of later life this would likely enable even if this was associated with a cap on lifespan.
So in contemplating the potential that the emergence and convergence of the key enabling technologies has to enhance humanity, what principles could guide us as we attempt to come to terms with this possible and even probable future. I would suggest two.
One principle, repeatedly stated by philosophers since David Hume, that should guide us is the following: Nothing can be inferred about what humans ought to be from what they are. This is different from arguing that nothing can be inferred about what human can be from what they are. For example, because we currently have a life expectancy of close to eighty in this country, does not allow us infer that this is what it ought to be in the future. However, our growing understanding of the process of aging means we can expect to radically alter life expectancy.
Another principle is that scientist, engineers and technologists alone can not be allowed to define what humans ought to be based solely on what they can be. This is clearly the role of the wider community, engaged in a process that engages all the stakeholders.
Already, it is clear that the issues surrounding human enhancement are set to be hugely challenging. And, not surprisingly, it is a topic that has attracted the attention of social scientists and economists. Of late, governments and their agencies have started to take an interest. It is now time to initiate a debate on these issues in Ireland.
Donald Fitzmaurce
Human enhancement describes a family of related technological developments, including drugs and implants, which will significantly enhance mental and physical performance. Life extension relates to the drive to understand and slow the process of aging.
Much of what is written and talked about in respect of these topics describe futures, which are populated by designer babies who grow in to super-intelligent super-athletes with a life expectancy of well over a hundred years.
While it is certain that we are many decades from such a possible future, it is no longer certain that such a future will not come to pass.
This possible future is being made more likely by the emergence and convergence of key enabling technologies; including biotechnology, information technology and nanotechnology. Together these technologies offer the real prospect of developing drugs and devices that will alter our bodies allowing them demonstrate enhanced performance for longer.
One high-profile actor in this future is the US Army, supported by leading US universities, which is funding programs such as the Future Force Warrior. A particular focus of this program is on enhancing the mental and physical abilities of the soldier and on negating the adverse effects of stress and fatigue. It has been said that if the US military could operate at peak performance for a two-day period that they could win any war.
Another high-profile advocate of this possible future is Aubrey de Grey. He is a researcher at Cambridge who believes that it will soon be possible to control the biochemical processes in our bodies that lead to aging, and that this will result in our living much longer. He has even gone so far to suggest progress in this field will be so rapid, that the first person to live to the age of a thousand may already have been born.
However we ourselves are not innocent bystanders, as evidenced by the increasing use of plastic surgery to enhance our appearance and drugs to improve our exam performance.
The number of people seeking plastic surgery in the UK has increased dramatically, with operations in BUPA hospitals up by 32% last year. The British Association of Aesthetic Surgeons reported an overall increase of 50%, with the number of men undergoing procedures more than doubling. In case we feel this trend does not apply here, Irish based aesthetic surgeons are all increasing capacity ahead of an expected SSIA bonanza.
The US National Institute of Drug Abuse recently reported that more than 5% of students in the final year of high school were abusing methyphenidate (Ritalin). It also estimated that about one in six of these students stole Ritalin from fellow students who had been prescribed this drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Their willingness to abuse this prescription drug stems from experimental and anecdotal evidence that it can significantly improve exam performance. In light of these developments, many eminent educators are suggesting that it is only a matter of time before students, like athletes, are tested for performance enhancing drugs.
While we may not be happy the US military is investing in enhanced human capacity to fight a war, the same research will also contribute to enhancing the performance of a pilot flying a plane that has developed engine trouble or a surgeon undertaking a long and difficult life-saving operation.
While we may be hugely concerned at the implications for all living things on this planet of significantly increased human life-expectancy, it is very likely that most of use would welcome the increase quality of later life this would likely enable even if this was associated with a cap on lifespan.
So in contemplating the potential that the emergence and convergence of the key enabling technologies has to enhance humanity, what principles could guide us as we attempt to come to terms with this possible and even probable future. I would suggest two.
One principle, repeatedly stated by philosophers since David Hume, that should guide us is the following: Nothing can be inferred about what humans ought to be from what they are. This is different from arguing that nothing can be inferred about what human can be from what they are. For example, because we currently have a life expectancy of close to eighty in this country, does not allow us infer that this is what it ought to be in the future. However, our growing understanding of the process of aging means we can expect to radically alter life expectancy.
Another principle is that scientist, engineers and technologists alone can not be allowed to define what humans ought to be based solely on what they can be. This is clearly the role of the wider community, engaged in a process that engages all the stakeholders.
Already, it is clear that the issues surrounding human enhancement are set to be hugely challenging. And, not surprisingly, it is a topic that has attracted the attention of social scientists and economists. Of late, governments and their agencies have started to take an interest. It is now time to initiate a debate on these issues in Ireland.
Donald Fitzmaurce
