Inspiration Forum

The Future of Procrastination

Technology and free time

Thanks to technological advances, humanity needs less human labour today than ever before. Yet we still spend a lot of time working. Governments are raising the retirement age, and burnout and stress are becoming diseases of civilization in the most economically advanced parts of the world. We suffer from the feeling that we are running out of free time, because after work there are more “shifts” to do – homework, cooking, cleaning, caring. Can new technologies rescue us from this trap, or will they drown us in it for good? And how would we even deal with a new portion of free time? Will we ever be able to “dawdle” again? And what might the “slacking off” of the future look like? We'll explore the impact of technology on housework, hobbies, doing nothing, and its impact on the climate crisis, social isolation and personal data control.