Newsletter

2022 - Beginning of a new cycle.

(This is a transfer of my newsletter archive from Substack as I am trying to migrate the platform! This was orignally published on Jan 5, 2022. Link here )

Hello everyone,

Hope you had a great break and had some time to refresh your vision board for 2022. This week’s newsletter is a special edition where I share some of the key 2022 themes based on major media outlet publications and research papers. I am still in quarantine and completely jet-lagged; so I used this time to reflect and also to make sense of the world besides creating a long laundry list to-do for my parents and brother (11 yo family dog) like hospital visits, etc. The 3D world as we know is rapidly changing and possibilities are endless! An accurate hypothesis is important. #marginoferror. It’s long, so pls brace yourself with a cup of tea/coffee!

Pls say hi and connect with me 😊!: https://linktr.ee/20ejshin00

*4 driving forces of the world in 2022 and beyond

Digital Economy/AI/Metaverse +
Demographic changes (LGBTQ + aging population) +
Sustainability +
Changing world order: re-emergence of China

1) Digital Economy/AI/Metaverse.

NFT and metaverse became the keywords that defined 2021, and the pandemic accelerated the arrival of the digital economy. The world as we know came to an end in 2020 with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. We were at a crossroads in 2021, and 2022 is the beginning of a new cycle for humanity and as we embark on a whole new path ahead, there are many adjustments we need to make and a couple of decisions we need to get right NOW before facing a dystopian future of the AI-ruled world as seen in some Hollywood movies. One is the notion of ‘social contract’ and the other is data privacy and what we will allow ‘AI’ to do for us and where to draw the line. As a starter, a couple of questions come to my mind: who created these new technology platforms?; who gains/loses from them?; and what’s their end game? According to the FT, there are two pieces of the regulation (the Digital Services Act + Digital Markets Act) heading for legislative adoption in 2022 and these will provide new responsibilities to police online content, requirements to share data and restrictions that would prevent the biggest tech platforms from giving preferential treatment to their own services. I am currently reading ‘The Age of AI and Our Human Future’ by Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, Daniel Huttenlocher.

Humans = The cyborg. Elon Musk once said "to some degree we are already a cyborg – you think of all the digital tools that you have – your phone, your computer," Musk told the crowd. "The applications that you have. The fact that you can ask a question and instantly get an answer from Google and other things." It’s like a Truman Show. We are being manipulated without knowing and my universe is different from yours purely because of the algorithm written by some 20+ yo male coders behind the screen and where my internet access zip code is based at. Indeed, I used to be paranoid about ‘privacy’ and being ‘traceable’ by the public or government agents (growing up, because of my father’s job - now a retired civilian so what follows here is no longer applicable - assassination was a real threat and I was trained to be cautious with everything I do and say, and I was used to being audited and monitored under heavy scrutiny and security protection) so I used pseudo names for all of my accounts and never revealed my identity on the internet let alone on social media, but it is getting increasingly annoying and inefficient (at times impossible) to operate in this incognito or paranoid mode, so I am learning to embrace the internet and modern technology but with caution.

Extracting signals from noise. But the tricky part is how can I trust the source of the information? Have you ever wondered who controls the media and how/what information you consume? Even what is taught in university and researched on are controlled by the funding sources. (Remember, the process is: Academic Research→ Government and/or Corporate R&D and/or Financial Institutes → Public policy, law or Consumer product implementation). It was much easier to map out the media empires before (i.e. owner charts), but with the ascent of social media/one-person media, everyone has got something to say these days, yet I don’t know what their angle is nor who their sponsor is (left vs. right). Let alone the source of the information, and the TRUTH! The major media outlets have been compromised as well, so it has become increasingly difficult to discern the truth from propaganda. Still, hope below media bias chart is helpful for you. Let me know if you have any good ways to monitor and regulate your information/media feeds to be as neutral as possible! + streamline 24/7 news cycle to extract insights from click-baits/noise.

The media bias chart (2021) - Left vs. Right political bias. Rather US-centric, but you get the idea.

The ones inside the green dotted line are the ‘most reliable for news’ according to adfontesmedia.com. NPR news now appears to be the most neutral at the top and in the middle.

(Source: https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/)

2) Demographic changes (LGBTQ + aging population)

Earth people are getting older, more diverse, and facing ‘the great wealth transfer.’ Women are poised to inherit a large share of the $30 trillion that will be passed down from baby boomers in the next 20-30 yrs. Washington Post reported 1 in 6 Gen Z adults are LGBT. And the aging population has huge implications on how and what we consume, economic growth/productivity, and public policy. #AI #Automation #DEI

3) Sustainability

This theme deserves a page of its own, but I am running out of the allotted space, so will revisit it in my next newsletter. For more reading on this, pls refer to the reading list at the bottom in the meantime.

(Source: McKinsey Global Institute)

4) Changing world order: re-emergence of China

About 13 years ago, sitting at my university’s international politics class, we used to debate about the rise of China (and India) vs. the West. What will future international politics look like? Who will be the leader? The new world order beyond American hegemony and supremacy. The US is divided more than ever before now. 2021 marked 20 yr anniversary of the Euro. It's been a rollercoaster couple of decades for the single currency. Indeed, the world had an absence of leadership quite for some time after the end of the cold war, and it appears what seemed like the distant future then has finally arrived. For more reading on this, pls refer to the reading list at the bottom.

Ray Dalio also talks about this in his new book, The Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail. For podcast interview, refer to this: Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order w/ Ray Dalio (TIP410)

The question we should ask ourselves is - what does this mean for democracy and the free economy the majority of the world/we have been taking for granted? This goes back to the ‘social contract’ point I mentioned earlier; where do we draw the line for government interventions across the various topics - health, education, finance, IT, social welfare, etc.? Bloomberg predicts only 26% of World GDP to come from free economies in 2050. It noted for the last 40 years, with the Reagan revolution sweeping the world -- markets were in the ascendant and the state in retreat -- but with the rise of China, that trend is swinging into reverse.

Sending you positive vibes wherever you are in the world. <3

Wishing everyone a happy 2022 full of abundance, peace, and well-being beyond your wildest imagination and dream!!!!

Have a lovely day!,

😍 My Favourite Things

📺 YouTube - Crash Course World History by John Green. If you like to make sense of the world from a cause-effect perspective, you may like this. :) #Education.

📺 YouTube - Melati Wijsen: A roadmap for young changemakers | TED Countdown. Sometimes the younger generations are better than us. #Inspiration.

📺 YouTube - Touring SERHANT. House New York City | 2021 Office Tour (Dec 26, 2021). I saw Ryan Serhant from Million Dollar Listing New York | Bravo TV Official Site for the first time in 2012. Over the years, I saw him amplifying his career/brand via media exposure and establishing his own show-stopper empire out of nothing. He was one of the first real estate agents to embrace social media and YouTube, and a couple of years later, he further expanded his platform from YouTube to podcasts, broker educational series, and development projects beyond the traditional real estate agent business. He is a visionary. Some people turn a crisis into an opportunity, and he is surely one of them. This is a true inspiration for the new cycle in 2022. period. #Inspiration.

🍄 My favorite productivity champions in 2021

Ryan Holiday: I found stoicism in university and it has been a guiding principle throughout the ups and downs of my life. Ryan is a stoicism expert.
Tim Ferriss: His productivity tips are quite useful, and I like to experiment w/ his ideas.
James Clear - Atomic Habit: Provides practical tips as to how we can stick w/ new habits.

🏆 My favorite podcasts in 2021

Founder’s Journal & Masters of scale: It is always priceless to learn from the biz leaders who’ve done it all and been there.
Jay Shetty: He made spirituality + purpose-driven life mainstream.
Lex Fridman: He is an AI researcher at MIT. Always appreciate his academic mind. Elon Musk interview (Dec 28, 2021) + Vitalik Buterin interview (June 3, 2021)

📚 My favorite books in 2021

Ripples of Hope - RFK: I like to read about heroes of the past who fought for what they believed in. RFK was not a typical charismatic leader like JFK as a shy introvert, but he was a fierce justice executor for what he believed in, standing up for the vulnerable, and rose to the occasion after the JFK assassination and emerged as a strong leader.
What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence: From Blackstone chairman, CEO, and co-founder Stephen A. Schwarzman.
Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds: It’s about self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work.

🎂 My favorite TV shows in 2021

The Great: It is one of the best period comedies loosely based on the rise to power of Catherine the Great, Empress of All Russia.
Atypical: As some of you know, autism is a topic dear to my heart thanks to some of my best friends. The show features what it is like to live w/ autism for oneself and people around the one.
Red Sleeve: This one is from my mum. If you like beautiful cinematography + period dramas + love story + curious about Korean period drama, this might be for you.

🍭 My Top 4 2022 goals (trust me you don’t want to know the entire list)

Get more fit both mentally and physically - like literally. I’ve completed ‘from couch to 5k’ last year, and want to build up momentum in 2022 and prepare for a (half-)marathon in 2023 (target ETA), and give myself more room for joy each day. The pandemic’s uncertainty + fear + anxiety + isolation were definitely one of the greatest social/economic experiments in human history. Now it is time to implement lessons learned. #LearntoChilax
80/20 principles. Apply more of 80/20 principles in every aspect of my life for optimal productivity.

Moonshot: The Do-Good-Do-Well Community. As many of you know, I care about humanity a lot and my dream is to heal people/animals and elevate all beings’ lives on Earth. This often starts with mental health/subconscious mind/energy and move on to the physical/3D matter (think of the book ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ - School of life video explainer). If I have a magic wand and can implement one law for everyone to follow - that would be, ‘to love oneself unconditionally.’ Hurt people hurt others; healed people help others. Only if we can love ourselves unconditionally, 99% of the world’s problems will disappear. I want to connect with like-minded people who are movers and shakers of the world dedicated to ‘making the world a better place’ from their respective fields so that we can build this community together. This is the motivation for my newsletter as well.

***If you want some inspiration for your 2022 vision boards. Check out Peter Diamandis’s. 10 LONGEVITY RESOLUTIONS FOR 2022 + 10 MINDSET RESOLUTIONS FOR 2022

Better storytelling + data science. Want to be a better writer both in text and data visualization so that I can communicate w/ people better. :) #Python #R #Tableau