New World Order is a phrase that has entered the lexicon and depicts a world transformed beyond recognition. Chris Perry’s new book, “Perspective Agents”, suggests that a new world order is indeed upon us, one that it is being delivered though machines and media technologies.
In the book, he makes the argument we are entering the autonomous age in which two parallel revolutions are unfolding. The first is a technological uprising, in which machines create their own media and the second is a profoundly human trend that finds us looking for meaning in novel and unexpected ways.
It is the dance between these two trends that occupies three sections of the book that take the reader on a journey. From an introduction into how perception is in transition, through to the radical changes on human beliefs about our work, identity and relationships, ending with advice on how to fully transition to this new world.
Perry’s own journey of “Perspective Agents” began in 2019, amidst a landscape rife with media turbulence and societal disarray. His collaboration on a project with the Institute for the Future led to the realization that traditional modes of sense-making were inadequate in a world of incoherence, complexity and contradiction. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic acting as an accelerator to existing trends, Perry embarked on a four-year odyssey of introspection and dialogue, aiming to decipher the challenges of an autonomous world and chart a course toward a more coherent future.
Central to Perry’s thesis is the notion of perspective as the paramount skill of our time.
In a world inundated with generative AI, spatial computing, and the fracturing of social media, the art of cultivating perspective becomes imperative for navigating the autonomous age. He makes no apology for the amount of times the world “perspective” appears throughout the book, telling me, “In my world we think about social media and tech talks, and chat bots, and all these things that people talk about. I think my conclusion in writing this book is we’re undergoing a mindset innovation – a new way of thinking – that’s different to innovation. If you apply old models to new situations it is not great, we have to reorient to get to a more constructive place.”
One example of this would be Perry’s exploration of world-building in the age of spatial computing, challenging conventional narratives and offering a glimpse into the boundless possibilities that lie ahead. He also explains how platforms like Blackbird.ai are revolutionizing our understanding of narrative propagation, shedding light on the hidden forces shaping public discourse.
How might one start to better tune into new perspectives afforded to us by new technologies, these new artificially intelligent agents? “Carve out budgets, assign responsible parties and invest heavily in diligent exploration of these technological phenomenons. They tend to be looked at through the lens of productivity where they should be seen as vehicles for potential. You can only realise the potential if you invest the time and get your perspective right.”
He advocates for experimenting with the new tools of perspective. For example with regard to spatial computing, one cannot rely on being told about it, one absolutely has to make the time to experience the immersion. “If you’re a leader, you have to understand AI, and you have to spend more of your time understanding what spending 13 to 15 hours a day in media does to you” he states.
The book is a valuable map of the media terrain we have been on as well as the new territory we are all heading towards in the autonomous era. It depicts a world in which there is the potential for every single thing in it to have autonomy except for the human being, unless we are prepared to update our own perspectives along with all our other software.
Perspective Agents by Chris Perry, is published by Fast Company Press and is available from Amazon U.S.
Disclaimer: the contributor is quoted in the book and her review is one of many included on the cover.