Future Narrative #14 - Learning from Anywhere
Here is another story that came out of our first Travel Tech Futures workshop at the Data and Design lab at the University of Edinburgh at the end of 2021. It considers brainstorms and ideas from 50 participants who considered the weight of the past, the push of the present, and the pull of the future in travel narratives for the next 10, 20, and 30 years. Themes of slow travel coordinated by hi tech digital algorithmic assistance and distance learning while en route to an academic destination are particularly compelling in a long journey between New York and Edinburgh in 2030.
Illustrated by James Albon and written by Máire Ryan.
Learning from Anywhere - Illustrated by James Albon
Back in the Metaverse, Sally’s AIPA (Artificially Intelligent Personal Assistant: Sally calls them “Aypa”) reminds her in soothing tones that, should she miss the shuttle she’s bound for, another will be along in just thirty minutes. Even though she’s only been away from home since 5am this morning (EST), it’s really soothing to hear an American accent. Aypa seems to sense this and throws in a gentle suggestion to raise her collar when she has a hand free.
Outside of the Metaverse, it begins to rain in Makkovik. Having opted for the greenest route possible, Sally is currently on the second leg. She’s hitched a ride a short-haul electric postal hopper from New York to Canada, staying to explore the Labrador Peninsula for one week, and now waits to board a transatlantic hopper over to Greenland. Of the plethora of routes Aypa returns when tasked with finding Sally the most carbon-friendly route to Edinburgh, this hopper-heavy journey stands out. It will save Sally’s carbon credits (she’s been getting dangerously low due to a friend’s wedding in New Mexico), and offer a slower, more adventurous wander towards her final destination. After Greenland, a hopper to Iceland. Aypa, having been fully present for all of Sally’s frenzied searches on the Inuit traditions of these areas, smartly places walking tours and local lectures at the forefront of the video package they deliver to inform Sally’s final choice. The leaps in technology mean that while progress (in the classical sense) will be slow, Sally will remain up-to-date in her studies. She can attend her lectures from anywhere (literally, anywhere) in the world.
Within the Metaverse, Aypa is currently verifying the internet capabilities of the booked accommodations for each leg of the trip. It’s in both of their interests for Aypa to triple-check the speeds; they both need to be online in order to fulfil their duties. A flag signals that Sally’s blood sugar is low–she is Type 1 Diabetic–and an automated message gently urges Sally to dip into the right pocket of her snow jacket for some dried cranberries. An automated timer ensures that Aypa will monitor the berries’ effect for the next thirty minutes of flight. As Sally “hops” from location to location, staying in each country no more than a week, she quickly embraces slow tourism. She sees the world, she can study from anywhere and (the best part) connect with people along the way. At each stop, her identity and health status are digitally shared by Aypa, using a secured and decentralised data platform on the blockchain.
Outside of the Metaverse, Sally from New York (by way of Canada, Greenland and Iceland) drags her suitcase over to a bus stop in Edinburgh. She’s just arrived: a hopper from Iceland to Northern Scotland, followed by an e-bus. She’s been delayed at customs (unfortunately, the UK does not recognise the decentralised standard for health verification), which Aypa has anticipated, pre-scheduling the additional health tests Sally undergoes before being allowed into the country. Her frenetic energy is undiminished, fuelled by her excitement about what’s to come. Today she is going to meet with her university peers–the people she has been algorithmically matched with–to embark upon an intercontinental and educational journey which, she is dead certain, will have a transformative effect upon the rest of her life. Reaching the bus stop, unceremoniously dumping her case next to the bench, Sally slumps down to marvel at the lack of cynicism in her future outlook. It only took a detailed application, a scholarship fund, and thousands of miles of staggered travel to relieve Sally of the blasé, resigned mantel she had felt suited her so well back home.
Inside the deepest chambers of the Metaverse, all plans are set in motion. All members of digitally curated cohort have been carefully matched, based on their learning needs, interests, and character profiles. The group has had itineraries developed for them based on their Metaverse activity (this is called Groupalisation) with the itinerary derived from their shared wants, as well as factoring in methods to achieve the lowest carbon impact. Every action they take on this trip is carefully and pre-emptively the result of mined data: their lodgings are secured weeks in advance; their “random” choices to stop at a local eatery forecasted to each establishment to allow for last-minute supply chain assembly. By sharing the geolocation of the group with nearby businesses, bids can be put in to satisfy the demand-responsive aspect that results in the group making “random” but “surprisingly excellent” “choices” about where they dine.
Without the Metaverse, Sally would have never joined six peers on a wild trek across Scotland in an electric autonomous camper. She also would never have met Jet. During her stay in Scotland, Sally–as the algorithms had predicted–forges a strong bond with Jet, who had made their own zig-zag carbon-friendly journey to Scotland from Catalonia. They share a dry sense of humour; a love of optimisation and they balance this with a real lust for exploring antiquity. Aypa and Jet’s “Digital Twin” (Sally mocks her endlessly for such a clunky name) conspire to ensure their interests are met: to explore the history, the castles, the nature and the whiskies of Scotland. As Jet remarks: each experience is often the same as it would have been 10, 20, or even 30 years ago. Whether exploring as a duo, or returning to the group, each leg of the journey is deeply rewarding. The purpose-built itineraries are even digitally shared with the local Scottish businesses they will visit. This helps the business plan; to optimise their stock and supply chain. They can now be more precise and efficient. They need to be, since you just can't get the staff in these times. In return, the students’ willing adoption of a range of technologies ensure their payments for a multitude of services are always timely. Due to the Metaverse’s capabilities, Sally and her friends undertake all their transactions with their crypto currency, which rewards loyalty to independent Scottish businesses.. They choose it because its usage rewards loyalty to independent Scottish shops. As the camper trundles through a plethora of landmarks, the vehicle will shift its route to avoid the hotspots so it doesn't exceed the carrying capacity of specific Scottish towns, villages or sites of unspoiled beauty. Due to the lack of need for a driving rota, the students can use this time to study up, or cool down, although the latter often leads to their usual spirited debates about semantics. Since they’re all perfectly matched, these discussions always end in laughter. Sally continues to wait for her cynical, New York self to re-emerge. She never does.
Provocation Questions
What details of this narrative excite you about the future?
Do any worry you?
What do you think is currently in place that might bring us to this future in the next 10 years?