In order for the future to stop being scary, perhaps we need to understand it. With this spirit, Tendencias, the new EL PAÍS project, was born. On the second day of their forum, held this Tuesday at the Teatro Platea in Madrid, they talked about artificial intelligence, health, geopolitics, work transformation and business ethics. And social networks, as the creators called Los Javis, started doing it early in the morning.
“Networks have a big influence on our lives: we met on Facebook,” said one of them.
The Javis are two audiovisual Javiers: Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi. They stood out with La Llamada and Paquita Salas, they continued with La Veneno and now they’re there with La mesías. At the Tendencias event, they chatted with EL PAÍS journalist Manuel Jabois about personal relationships in the digital age.
Artists, including journalists, anyone who has a public job, can now come into direct contact with the opinions generated by their work through networks. Transparency and democratization have been won, although “win” may not be the right word. “Is there really more transparency?” Ambrossi asked himself: “I believe that the networks do not reflect reality, I believe that they are driven by a radical engine.” Almost no one bothers to write that they have something in them Order appeared.”
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According to the story of these artists, the networks would be the deforming mirror of the absurdity of public opinion. Calvo understood something like this: “Before I checked what they thought about me, I had to understand that what they write about you is not what they think about you.” The need to constantly value values leads to that people override the feelings of others.” The game of social networks is also the game of vanity, which borders so closely on insecurity and the desire for recognition. Los Javis has thought about this a lot. “Why do I keep taking selfies so people think I’m good-looking? Why do I need this confirmation?” Ambrossi asked himself.
Adapt to technology
The editor-in-chief of culture of EL PAÍS, Guillermo Altares, remembered the trillos from the film Nobleza baturra (Florián Rey, 1935) and how they became the basis for the production of furniture due to the technological obsolescence of agricultural tools.
This was the approach of the panel The global race for job update. There was talk about how technological progress can “displace” people (or, to put it more mildly, tasks) from the labor market, about the speed at which the technological revolution in which we are immersed is taking place, about the transience of everything : Let’s forget Due to stability and certainty, the world of work will be full of uncertainty and we will have to learn to adapt to its demands.
“65% of the professions that children now in early childhood education study do not yet exist,” recalls Luis Jesús Pérez López, President of the Commission for Social Dialogue for the Promotion of Work, “the labor market is changing, as in .” all industrial revolutions. The speakers agreed on a certain technological fatalism and a certain techno-optimism: jobs are being destroyed, but others are also being created.
But precarity is increasing. “Today’s young people are no longer so concerned about safety. What really matters to them is that the work aligns with something that has meaning in their life. Not only do you work like an earner, but you also work like an earner,” said Marta Montojo, director of professional careers at the University of Francisco de Vitoria. The challenge is to adapt the active population to new work realities that are not only new but also constantly changing. “We see things that were impossible and stop doing things that were natural,” explained Ángel Sáenz de Cenzano, general director of LinkedIn in the Iberian Peninsula, adding: “There will no longer be the linearity of careers , in which we will live.” the need for constant adaptation.” They call it retraining.
Geopolitical dependence
The challenge is also presented at the international level, as reflected in the lecture “Adapting to change: geopolitics for a new business scenario”, moderated by Andrea Rizzi, global affairs correspondent at EL PAÍS. “Unlike during the Cold War, interdependence is characteristic today,” said the journalist.
“Geopolitics, sustainability and technology are the axes around which companies’ long-term strategy must revolve,” said Elena Salgado, former minister and president of the Abertis Foundation. Also, three major influential geopolitical events: the rivalry between the United States and China (which is affecting Europe), the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. What should companies do? “Consider the risks, compare them with the possibility of investing, create alternatives and diversification and even insurance,” Salgado said.
The philosopher and Professor Emeritus of Ethics at the University of Valencia, Adela Cortina, during her talk at the Tendencias event in Madrid this Tuesday. Santi Burgos
“Most experts rule out armed conflict between the US and China,” said Charles Powell, director of the Elcano Royal Institute, although he did not deny possible turmoil over Taiwan and the China Sea. “The choice between the US and China puts us in a very vulnerable situation,” he added. Regarding the global south, “we are at a critical moment and the Gaza conflict has caused great damage,” Powell explained, “we will be accused of applying double standards in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.” That will affect our credibility vis-à-vis the countries of the global south.”
The responsibility of companies
The philosopher Adela Cortina gave the short lecture Citizens and those responsible on the topic of global governance. “The company and its social responsibility are major issues of our time. We have seen a turnaround in this regard. In the 1970s, economist Milton Friedman said that a company’s only responsibility was to generate profits for shareholders. We have made progress that needs to be supported.”
Now companies must not only try to increase their profits, but also do so by creating good societies, at least in theory. Stakeholder capitalism has been called capitalism that takes care of all stakeholders surrounding corporate operations, as pointed out by Edward Freeman and supported by Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum. “Rather, from everyone affected by the companies’ activities,” Cortina added. For the philosopher, this is the concept of social responsibility that has taken hold and that needs to be promoted. The economic and ecological balance will be taken into account, “but we must not forget the social balance.” “The idea of the triple balance is very positive,” concluded Cortina.
Tendencias is a new project from EL PAÍS with which the newspaper aims to open a lasting discussion about the major future challenges of our society. The initiative is sponsored by Abertis, Enagás, EY, Iberdrola, Iberia, OEI, Redeia, Santander, Telefónica and strategic partner Oliver Wyman.