BBC’s Amol Rajan says future is “up for grabs”

The pace of technological change has led to the future being “up for grabs”, says BBC presenter Amol Rajan.

Speaking at Dynamic Planner’s ‘Scaling Success’ conference in London today (5 March), Rajan also claimed that “the age of the democratic west is over”, while the UK often resembles “a tired, increasingly old patient”.

Drawing on his background in print media, Rajan compared the digital revolution to the invention of the printing press in the 15th century.

The difference this time, said Rajan, was the decreasing cost of content married to the increasing volume, which was leading to a “speeding up of history”.

He pointed to four key acceleration “jerks”: global heating, leading to “guaranteed wars over resources”; ‘Easternisation’, or power shifting to the Asian countries; population change, with an ageing west facing a ‘youth bulge’ in Asia and Africa’; and technological change, in particular the rise of AI and quantum computing.

On this last point, Rajan pointed to the differences in ideology between Silicon Valley and Brussels when it comes to dealing with social issues, with the former taking a libertarian and technologically utopian view and the latter focusing more on regulation.

He also warned that “the technology is now mastering us”, pointing out that 70% of all YouTube viewing today is what the algorithm recommends.

Finishing on the lessons he learned as editor of The Independent, Rajan reflected that the internet “destroyed both the gatekeepers and the gate”, and there is no editorial solution to the march of technology.

Instead, the future will belong to those outlets who focus entirely on digital solutions, make the most direct 1-to-1 connection with consumers and futureproof their business models.