There’s no way around it. Change will happen, and it will never stop.

Could you have ever imagined the world we live in today when you were 10? I was born in 1978 (which my boys say, “Woahhhhh, you were born in the 1900s?!?!”), and the phone our family used while growing up still had cords running from the wall. There was no such thing as a POS machine at the stores. Many of you may never have seen this machine where you lay down your credit card and slide the upper part to create a carbon copy of the embossed numbers and your purchase.

In 2024, we can send money via WhatsApp. International calls are literally free, even with video. Can you believe that placing an international call from Japan to the UK in the 1980s cost ¥90/50p per 6 SECONDS?!

Let’s also take work as an example. Back in the day, very few people worked from home. Almost all jobs were carried out in person, and when someone was out of town, that was it. There was no way to get in touch with Ted unless spending a lot of money on a long-distance or international call.

My father, who is retired and in his mid-seventies, told me a funny story about when he joined Mitsui & Co. back in the 70s. He said, “When I was young, and someone had to go on a business trip, there was an announcement made throughout the entire company office to let everyone know who was leaving, so if there were any papers to sign or meetings to have, they had to be done by a certain day and time.” That was only forty-something years ago.

Change has happened, and it will continue to unfold before our eyes.

Now, what does this evolving landscape mean for parenting? It means a great deal.

We must evolve our parenting styles just as swiftly as the world changes around us. Relying on 20th-century beliefs to prepare our children for their future is no longer viable. The skills and competencies needed tomorrow diverge significantly from those of yesterday.

It is estimated that 30-50% of current jobs will be replaced by AI, and individuals will likely hold multiple jobs in shorter time spans. While it's believed that roles requiring empathy, creativity, and interpersonal skills may be harder to automate, AI's burgeoning capabilities, including composing music, signal a broader spectrum of potential automation.

In 2012, I pondered the vast accessibility of knowledge and concluded that uniqueness, not credentials, would seperate us from AI. Despite AI's proficiency in aggregating data and making educated predictions, I believe there is an inherent human essence it could not replicate.

The human brain, an emblem of boundless creativity and potential, seemed the ultimate frontier differentiating us from machines. To me, nurturing the creative and emotional capacities of my children's minds was paramount—their ability to innovate, empathize, and connect on a human level would be their edge in a future mediated by technology.

As such, in our household, we embrace technology and video games not as distractions but as cultural gateways and learning tools. They are not mere pastimes but conduits for creativity, problem-solving, and understanding a rapidly digitizing world. This approach aligns with our belief that every technological advancement or update is, at its core, an extension of human ingenuity and empathy—a continuous effort to enhance our collective existence.

How do we enrich life for ourselves and others? What is our purpose? What does life mean? These eternal questions gain new dimensions in today's context, and the quest for answers should begin in childhood although they may not understand why they are drawn to certain things.

Children are adept at exploring and interpreting the world in ways adults might not. It is crucial, then, that we facilitate their inquiry, not constrain it. Our role is to guide, support, and empower them as they navigate a landscape we ourselves are learning to understand.

While change is relentless, our response to it—especially in nurturing the next generation—remains a beacon of consistency. As we adapt, so too must our parenting, ensuring our children are equipped not just with knowledge but with the wisdom to apply it creatively and compassionately.