Imagination Age
Encyclopedia
The imagination age is a concept that states that the economy and culture of advanced economies is moving beyond the information age
in to an age where creativity and imagination over analysis and thinking will become the primary creators of economic value. Imagination, over Information is seen as the new key activity of the economy and culture. The concept holds that technologies like virtual reality
, user created content and YouTube
will change the way humans interact with each other and how they create economic and social structures. A key concept is that the rise of the immersive virtual reality, the cyberspace
or the metaverse
will raise the value of imagination work of designers, artists, video makers and actors over rational thinking as a foundation of culture and economics.
, "The Emergence of a New Global Culture in the Imagination Age" where she began using the phrase, "Toward a New Global Culture and Economy in the Imagination Age". King further refined the development of her thinking in a 2008 Paris essay entitled, "Our Vision for Sustainable Culture in the Imagination Age" in which she states,
, TED
, Cusp
, and Business Innovation Factory conferences. King also edits "The Imagination Age" blog.
The term imagination age was subsequently popularized in techno-cultural discourse by other writers, futurists
and technologists, who attributed the term to Rita J. King, including Jason Silva
and Tish Shute a technology entrepreneur and publisher of Augmented Reality and emerging technology blog "UgoTrade".
Earlier, one-time, references to the imagination age can be found attributed to Carl W. Olson in his 2001 book "The Boss is Dead...: Leadership Breakthroughs for the Imagination Age" ISBN 0-7596-1576-4" virtual worlds developer Howard Stearns in 2005 and Cathilea Robinett in 2007.
The concept of the imagination age extends this to a new order emerging presently.
An imagination economy is defined by some thinkers as an economy where intuitive and creative thinking create economic value, after logical and rational thinking has been outsourced to other economies.
Michael Cox
Chief Economist at Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
argues that economic trends show a shift away from information sector employment and job growth towards creative jobs. Jobs in publishing, he has pointed out are declining while jobs for designers, architects, actors & directors, software engineers and photographers are all growing. This shift in job creation is a sign the beginning of the Imagination Age. The 21st century has seen a growth in games and interactive media jobs.
Cox argues that the skills can be viewed as a “hierarchy of human talents”, with raw physical effort as the lowest form of value creation, above this skilled labor and information entry to creative reasoning and emotional intelligence. Each layer provides more value creation than the skills below it, and the outcome of globalization
and automation
is that labor is made available for higher levels skills that create more value. Presently theses skills are tending to be around imagination, social and emotional intelligence, and imagination.
The idea is that human culture has moved through a number of major stages of development. According to this idea civilization has progressed through the following ages or Epochs
:
Following this a new paradigm
created by virtual technology, high speed internet, and other technology will emerge. This new paradigm, the argument goes, will create a new kind of global culture and economy called the Imagination Age.
will emerge to take much of the place of the current text and graphic dominated Internet. This will provide a 3-D Internet where imagination and creativity over information and search will be key talents to creating user experience and value.
The concept is not limited to just virtual reality. Charlie Magee states that the technology that will develop during the imagination age would include:
In The Singularity is Near
Raymond Kurzweil
states that future combination of AI, nano-technology, and biotechnology will create a world where anything that can be imagined will be possible, raising the importance of imagination as the key mode of human thinking.
entitled, "The Emergence of a New Global Culture in the Imagination Age" Says King,
have been major advocates of the Imagination Age concept and its implications on cultural relations, identity and the transformation of the global economy and culture. Rita J. King has expounded on the concept through recent speeches at the O'Reilly Media
and TED
conferences and has argued that virtual world technology and changes in people's ability to imagine other lives could promote world understanding and reduce cultural conflict. Some public policy experts have argued the emergence of the Imagination Age out of the Information Age will have a major impact on overall public policy
But if you define a full imagination age as requiring nanotechnology
the time frame could be in the centuries.
The concept of an amagination age assumes that it is an established reality. Therefore questions of the value of the concept information age or information economy also apply to the idea of an imagination age. For example, how can one establish that a certain kind of activity is dominate in an economy? Is the current age any less industrial than 100 years ago simply because a lower percentage of American and Western European workers are engaged in industry?
Also the breaking history in to such ages implies a discontinuity and ignores the important historical continuity. For example the emergence of modern media economics is perhaps the application of industrial processes and governance to cultural products.
The term is also highly speculative and even the concepts supporters argue it as a new paradigm as opposed to the far more established concept of the information age.
Information Age
The Information Age, also commonly known as the Computer Age or Digital Age, is an idea that the current age will be characterized by the ability of individuals to transfer information freely, and to have instant access to knowledge that would have been difficult or impossible to find previously...
in to an age where creativity and imagination over analysis and thinking will become the primary creators of economic value. Imagination, over Information is seen as the new key activity of the economy and culture. The concept holds that technologies like virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
, user created content and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
will change the way humans interact with each other and how they create economic and social structures. A key concept is that the rise of the immersive virtual reality, the cyberspace
Cyberspace
Cyberspace is the electronic medium of computer networks, in which online communication takes place.The term "cyberspace" was first used by the cyberpunk science fiction author William Gibson, though the concept was described somewhat earlier, for example in the Vernor Vinge short story "True...
or the metaverse
Metaverse
The Metaverse is our collective online shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the internet...
will raise the value of imagination work of designers, artists, video makers and actors over rational thinking as a foundation of culture and economics.
Origins of the term
The term imagination age was first introduced as a cultural and economic philosophy by artist, writer and cultural philosopher Rita J. King in her November 2007 essay for the British CouncilBritish Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
, "The Emergence of a New Global Culture in the Imagination Age" where she began using the phrase, "Toward a New Global Culture and Economy in the Imagination Age". King further refined the development of her thinking in a 2008 Paris essay entitled, "Our Vision for Sustainable Culture in the Imagination Age" in which she states,
Active participants in the Imagination Age are becoming cultural ambassadors by introducing virtual strangers to unfamiliar customs, costumes, traditions, rituals and beliefs, which humanizes foreign cultures, contributes to a sense of belonging to one’s own culture and fosters an interdependent perspective on sharing the riches of all systems. Cultural transformation is a constant process, and the challenges of modernization can threaten identity, which leads to unrest and eventually, if left unchecked, to violent conflict. Under such conditions it is tempting to impose homogeneity, which undermines the highly specific systems that encompass the myriad luminosity of the human experience.Rita J. King has expanded her interpretation of the Imagination Age concept through speeches at the O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media is an American media company established by Tim O'Reilly that publishes books and Web sites and produces conferences on computer technology topics...
, TED
TED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
, Cusp
Cusp Conference
Cusp Conference is an annual gathering of thinkers, innovators, creators, skeptics, believers, visionaries and explorers from the arts, sciences, technology, business and design....
, and Business Innovation Factory conferences. King also edits "The Imagination Age" blog.
The term imagination age was subsequently popularized in techno-cultural discourse by other writers, futurists
Futurists
Futurists or futurologists are scientists and social scientists whose speciality is to attempt to systematically predict the future, whether that of human society in particular or of life on earth in general....
and technologists, who attributed the term to Rita J. King, including Jason Silva
Jason Silva
Jason Silva is a Venezuelan-American television personality, filmmaker, gonzo journalist and founding producer/host for Current TV, the Emmy winning youth-oriented lifestyle cable network started by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, now the fastest growing network in TV history...
and Tish Shute a technology entrepreneur and publisher of Augmented Reality and emerging technology blog "UgoTrade".
Earlier, one-time, references to the imagination age can be found attributed to Carl W. Olson in his 2001 book "The Boss is Dead...: Leadership Breakthroughs for the Imagination Age" ISBN 0-7596-1576-4" virtual worlds developer Howard Stearns in 2005 and Cathilea Robinett in 2007.
Economic rise of imagination
The imagination age would be a society and culture dominated by an imagination economy. The idea relies on a key Marxist concept that culture is a super-structure fully conditioned by the economic substructure. According to Marxist thinking certain kinds of culture and art were made possible by the adoption of farming technology. Then with the rise of industry new forms of political organization (democracy, militarism, fascism, communism) were made possible along with new forms of culture (mass media, news papers, films). These resulted in people changing. In the case of industrialization people were trained to become more literate, to follow time routines, to like in urban communities.The concept of the imagination age extends this to a new order emerging presently.
An imagination economy is defined by some thinkers as an economy where intuitive and creative thinking create economic value, after logical and rational thinking has been outsourced to other economies.
Michael Cox
Michael Cox
Michael Cox may refer to:* Michael Cox , Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics* Michael Cox , Irish Palmarian Archbishop...
Chief Economist at Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas covers the Eleventh Federal Reserve District, which includes Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico....
argues that economic trends show a shift away from information sector employment and job growth towards creative jobs. Jobs in publishing, he has pointed out are declining while jobs for designers, architects, actors & directors, software engineers and photographers are all growing. This shift in job creation is a sign the beginning of the Imagination Age. The 21st century has seen a growth in games and interactive media jobs.
Cox argues that the skills can be viewed as a “hierarchy of human talents”, with raw physical effort as the lowest form of value creation, above this skilled labor and information entry to creative reasoning and emotional intelligence. Each layer provides more value creation than the skills below it, and the outcome of globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and automation
Automation
Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...
is that labor is made available for higher levels skills that create more value. Presently theses skills are tending to be around imagination, social and emotional intelligence, and imagination.
The ages of human history
The ideas of the Imagination Age depends in large part upon an idea of progress through history because of technology, outlined by Marx.The idea is that human culture has moved through a number of major stages of development. According to this idea civilization has progressed through the following ages or Epochs
Epoch (reference date)
In the fields of chronology and periodization, an epoch is an instance in time chosen as the origin of a particular era. The "epoch" then serves as a reference point from which time is measured...
:
- Agricultural Age – Age domination by work with wooden tool and animals to produce food.
- Industrial AgeIndustrial AgeIndustrial Age may refer to:*Industrialisation*The Industrial Revolution...
– Economy dominated by factories producing commodities. - Information AgeInformation AgeThe Information Age, also commonly known as the Computer Age or Digital Age, is an idea that the current age will be characterized by the ability of individuals to transfer information freely, and to have instant access to knowledge that would have been difficult or impossible to find previously...
– Economy dominated by knowledge workers using computer and other electronic devices in sectors like research, finance, consulting, information technology and other services.
Following this a new paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
created by virtual technology, high speed internet, and other technology will emerge. This new paradigm, the argument goes, will create a new kind of global culture and economy called the Imagination Age.
Technology and the imagination age
Key to the idea that imagination is becoming the key commodity of our time is a confidence that Virtual Reality technology, like Second LifeSecond Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
will emerge to take much of the place of the current text and graphic dominated Internet. This will provide a 3-D Internet where imagination and creativity over information and search will be key talents to creating user experience and value.
The concept is not limited to just virtual reality. Charlie Magee states that the technology that will develop during the imagination age would include:
- The best bet is on a hybrid breakthrough created by the meshing of nanotechnology, computer science (including artificial intelligence), biotechnology (including biochemistry, biopsychology, etc.), and virtual reality.
In The Singularity is Near
The Singularity Is Near
The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology is a 2005 update of Raymond Kurzweil's 1999 book, The Age of Spiritual Machines and his 1990 book The Age of Intelligent Machines. In it, as in the two previous versions, Kurzweil attempts to give a glimpse of what awaits us in the near future...
Raymond Kurzweil
Raymond Kurzweil
Raymond "Ray" Kurzweil is an American author, inventor and futurist. He is involved in fields such as optical character recognition , text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and electronic keyboard instruments...
states that future combination of AI, nano-technology, and biotechnology will create a world where anything that can be imagined will be possible, raising the importance of imagination as the key mode of human thinking.
Culture, economy and the imagination age
Imagination Age as a philosophical tenet heralding a new wave of cultural and economic innovation appears to have been first introduced by Rita J. King in a 2008 collection of essays for the British CouncilBritish Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
entitled, "The Emergence of a New Global Culture in the Imagination Age" Says King,
"Rather than exist as an unwitting victim of circumstance, all too often unaware of the impact of having been born in a certain place at a certain time, to parents firmly nestled within particular values and socioeconomic brackets, millions of people are creating new virtual identities and meaningful relationships with others who would have remained strangers, each isolated within their respective realities."
Global implications
Rita J. King along with her collaborator Joshua FoutsJoshua Fouts
Joshua Fouts is a US digital media and cultural relations strategist, entrepreneur, and writer known for his work and research helping to define the evolving role of emerging technology on business and culture...
have been major advocates of the Imagination Age concept and its implications on cultural relations, identity and the transformation of the global economy and culture. Rita J. King has expounded on the concept through recent speeches at the O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media is an American media company established by Tim O'Reilly that publishes books and Web sites and produces conferences on computer technology topics...
and TED
TED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
conferences and has argued that virtual world technology and changes in people's ability to imagine other lives could promote world understanding and reduce cultural conflict. Some public policy experts have argued the emergence of the Imagination Age out of the Information Age will have a major impact on overall public policy
Potential timeframe
Some argue it has already started. They state that imagination is the most valued skilled in our modern society.But if you define a full imagination age as requiring nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
the time frame could be in the centuries.
Criticism
The concept of an imagination age is not well established enough to have attracted much specific criticism. One could reject the idea of an imagination age as pure speculation, with little solid evidence that new high engaging technologies are impacting society. One could also reject the concept as being because it assume technical determinism, which is the idea that technology determines culture.The concept of an amagination age assumes that it is an established reality. Therefore questions of the value of the concept information age or information economy also apply to the idea of an imagination age. For example, how can one establish that a certain kind of activity is dominate in an economy? Is the current age any less industrial than 100 years ago simply because a lower percentage of American and Western European workers are engaged in industry?
Also the breaking history in to such ages implies a discontinuity and ignores the important historical continuity. For example the emergence of modern media economics is perhaps the application of industrial processes and governance to cultural products.
The term is also highly speculative and even the concepts supporters argue it as a new paradigm as opposed to the far more established concept of the information age.