[Kim Seong-kon] The future of Generations Alpha and Beta

Each generation has its own nickname. For example, “Baby Boomers” refers to those who were born between 1945 and the early 1960s. “Generation X” indicates those who were born between 1965 and 1980. Then came the “Millennials,” who were born between 1981 and 1996 and grew up playing with computers and surfing the internet. Those born between 1997 and 2010 are called “Generation Z,” a demographic that grew up using smartphones. Next came “Generation Alpha,” a nickname for those born between 2010 and 2024. Now, we have “Generation Beta,” which denotes those born in or after 2025.

Anyone 26 years old or younger was born in the 21st century. In their eyes, those born in the 20th century might look like extinct dinosaurs. Indeed, compared to the 21st century — often called “the Era of AI” — the 20th century surely resembles a prehistoric age. The world has changed rapidly and radically due to astonishing electronic technologies.

In the eyes of the older generation, however, the future of Generations Alpha and Beta seems nebulous and even grim for many reasons. It would be heartbreaking if the older generation could not bequeath a better, brighter future to their successors. Yet the future for young people remains uncertain and bleak. These days, we are already witnessing various ominous signs warning us of what lies ahead.

Dear Generations Alpha and Beta, the first problem you will face is deciding what to do with the omniscient and omnipotent artificial intelligence with which you will have to compete in the job market. In your era, AI will rapidly replace humans across all lines of work. AI will no longer simply provide information by searching for legacy data. Instead, it will create entirely new content by writing essays, designing art and composing music. It can even invent new technologies. Under these circumstances, choosing a college major will not be easy, as it is hard to predict which fields AI will dominate in your time.

While it is true that AI will take over many professional, white-collar jobs, some claim it will not be able to replace manual laborers or plumbers who rely on specialized physical skills. However, recent Hollywood sci-fi movies depict factory workers already being replaced by human-shaped AI androids. Moreover, according to media reports, a plumber recently confessed to using AI to help complete a complex plumbing job. Car mechanics, too, may face replacement by AI soon. The second problem you must deal with is living in a world where liberal democracy is at stake, replaced instead by a predominant mob democracy. Politicians, whether left-wing progressives or right-wing conservatives, will blame liberalism and liberal democracy for their nations’ social disruptions and chaos. They will also criticize globalism as the main driver of economic crises. By leveraging populism and a sense of crisis for political gain, leaders will justify everything they do, including tyranny.

In the past, clear rivalries existed between liberalism and conservatism, capitalism and communism, and the open, free world versus the closed, oppressive regimes behind the Iron or Bamboo Curtains. In the future, however, boundaries will blur. Communists could become capitalists, leftists could turn into ultranationalists or fascists, and free-world nations could turn tyrannical. Consequently, you are likely to live in a world where ultranationalism and fascism run rampant.

Your third problem is that you will find yourselves living in a totalitarian society where Big Brother is constantly watching, driven by big data, generative AI and ubiquitous surveillance cameras. Those in power will possess massive, high-speed data systems to monitor your every move. If this happens, you will lose your freedom and easily fall under the control of dictators.

The fourth problem you will encounter is living in a post-truth society where fake news mimics truth, while actual truth loses its validity and sanctity. In such a world, lies will be everywhere, making it difficult to distinguish falsehood from reality. Furthermore, people may come to believe in lies and fake news religiously. Yuval Noah Harari perceived this phenomenon and presented a profound insight into it, noting: “When a thousand people believe some made-up story for one month, that’s fake news. When a billion people believe it for a thousand years, that’s a religion.”

The fifth problem in your future will be political activists or radical politicians who commit crimes without remorse in the name of justice. Thus, you should be wary of those who constantly chant “justice!” This term has historically been misused and manipulated by tyrants and terrorists alike.

Finally, your sixth problem will be climate change. This crisis has already begun and will become a defining threat to our planet with extreme heat, increased flooding and severe droughts. To overcome the crisis, you should expand clean energy, electrify every possible thing including heating, and shield natural ecosystems.

Despite these gloomy predictions, I hope Generations Alpha and Beta will succeed in building a bright future and prevail. Otherwise, they will sadly end up as Generation Omega.

Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. The views expressed here are the writer's own. — Ed

khnews@heraldcorp.com