Dead To Me

How do you identify yourself?

This isn't a trick question, nor does it come with any judgement one way or the other. This is a reflective experience. Because often we identify ourselves among a few different themes like; race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and our bodies. Black, white, nationality, rich, poor, male, female, other, straight, gay, other, Christian, Muslim, Atheist, tall, short, skinny, fat....

It is an endless game of division.

I was reading how the Trump has mandated that all truck drivers (and professional drivers?) have to speak English, which seems to be a common sense rule, in a country where the official language is English. However, a lot is transported by truck in Europe too, so just imagine if a truck driver had to speak the local language of every country they pass through - could you do it? But, English is the dominant language in the international world of trade today, so it does make sense that some level of English is spoken.

At least historically.

Language is a big part of our personal identity, but it is a fluid part of society, as it is always changing. Even when it comes to people of the same nationality, there can be very large differences in vernacular. So when a mandate is to be able to "speak English" (or whatever the local language is) what is meant by that - the English that is spoken in government, or in the ghettos? Are the standardized language tests "inclusive" of the full range of a nation's vernacular?

This conversation is soon to be moot.

For a long time already, when people travel abroad to countries they don't speak the language, they have relied on translation applications to be able to both understand and get their point across. Over a decade ago I used Google to speak to the workers at a French train station, and they have only gotten better and more integrated since then. Very soon, other than the brain benefits of speaking multiple languages, learning a language to be able to function in especially professional fields, is going to be irrelevant. A truck driver doesn't need to even small talk, they just need to be able to convey the necessary information for deliveries and pickups, and understand directions.

For fifty-plus years in science-fiction we have had concepts like the "universal Translator" in Star Trek, where it was possible to speak with "alien" languages, and we are very close to that point now with foreign languages. This is in many ways, a cultural revolution that should bring into question the concept of identity based on languages spoken. Language, at least at the functional interpersonal level, becomes irrelevant. And it won't be far behind that people from different language groups will be able to communicate with each other clearly and with a very high degree of accuracy on translation and meaning, across any topic, no matter how complicated it might be.

I can't work in Finnish.

My language skills are far too low. And I also understand what it is like to try and build social connection with my Finnish. The conversation is very different than if I was speaking English, and being married to a Finn, I know that my wife also struggles at times to fully convey herself to me, despite her English being brilliant. She can't fully express herself, but she will pass all the English tests. Similarly, I have friends who are non-native Finnish speakers, but they also feel they can't express themselves fully.

And mothers mother in their native tongue.

Yet, the conversation about "professional language" requirements is still something that is unnecessary and should be eradicated. What should happen is that instead of using language as a differentiator between people, use the ability to perform the necessary tasks of the job. As language is no longer (or soon not to be) a significant limiting factor, look at factors that are specific to that role, like driving ability for truck drivers. And even that is getting iffy, as self-driving vehicles will get more ubiquitous.

And perhaps you see the problem with a lot of the talk around skills for jobs, because technology is rapidly replacing the need for people to possess these skills anyway. Self-driving vehicles are probably already better than the average driver, and will ultimately be better than all human drivers - even the very best. Even the most gifted mathematician, can't out calculate a calculator.

And a lot of the professional skills we judge humans upon, are calculatable. This means that they are complicated problems to solve, but once solved, are highly replicable. Language is just a code. Driving is just a code.

And perhaps this is why so much of the identity conversation is around differentiators that don't at least seem codifiable, like colour of skin, or sexual orientation. We are looking for ways to remain relevant, by seeking refuge in identities that we feel can't be taken away from us, even though they are quite irrelevant and should have little to no bearing on our humanity.

And this makes me question something...

If so many of the identifiers we use are fluid and changing to the point that they die and stop evolving, like the Latin language, then what factors of humanness are important? There is of course the things that are "important right now" in society, but a lot of what matters is very hard to verify and validate. For instance, perhaps what we should be thinking about in terms of identifying factors and value to society are in areas that are subjective, rather than what is objective at the skill level.

Do you identify as a good person?

Does being a good person matter in today's world, or because it is subjective, and because it doesn't add economic value, it has been minimized? What are the factors included in the evaluation of what a good person is? How do you decide that your ranking on a scale of good to bad?

Does it matter how well you speak English?

We are moving into an unchartered global opportunity, where we will increasingly have to make decisions on what we consider valuable in society. Currently, the drive is to favour the financial economic value of behaviour, but it should be that as more and more economic activities are taken out of the hands of humans, we will have to start evaluating ourselves and others based on what role a person plays in the community itself - are you a force for positive growth, or of social contraction?

And what is the reward for being good?

We all act on incentive.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]