2020 was full of events that made it completely different from previous years, and its end will be exceptional also in light of the cancellation of celebrations in various parts of the world with the continued restrictions of closure due to the Corona crisis.

In an article published in the British newspaper "The Telegraph", writer Roger Bootle says that he usually writes this period about the most prominent events of the ending year, and reviews his expectations for the new year, but all of this seems worthless in light of what the world has witnessed this year.

Therefore, in his closing essay for the current year, Bootle thinks it would be best to present his insight into the most important lessons learned from the events of 2020.

Sudden events

The first lesson that we learned, according to the writer, is related to the extent of the impact of sudden events on our lives, or what former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called in his memoirs "unknown unknowns."

The Corona virus crisis was the second major shock to humanity in less than a decade, and it is expected that we will live in more sudden events and major shocks in the future.

The writer adds that we have also learned that there are almost no limits to the government budget deficit in a country that prints its own currency, as it seems that the old rules about controlling the budget and maintaining a low debt ratio have been turned upside down.

But the problem is that this approach can only be implemented when the wheel of the economy stops completely, and with life returning to normal, the "magic money tree" will surely wither and die, and the policy of increasing debt will not be the best solution to economic problems.

Telework model

The author believes that the year 2020 also taught us a lot about the value of communication technology and the extent of its development, as people were able to work remotely after the imposition of lockdown measures, something that was not easy to anticipate before the crisis.

But we also learned that there are limits to technology, with the onset of the crisis, people were very excited about the idea of ​​working from home, and many spoke about the end of the office era, but it soon became clear that remote work deprives us of the human communication that we most need.

Although the business model in the office from nine in the morning to six in the evening, 5 days a week, has actually ended - as the writer says - and most of the employees still need to go to the office at some times.

Over the past years, companies and employees could have moved away from the office business model, but they did not, and the Corona crisis came to impose the development that should have happened anyway.

This pandemic also imposed the online shopping and paying model, a trend that already existed, but which spread widely in 2020.

The writer believes that the work form in the office from nine in the morning to six in the evening 5 days a week has actually ended (Reuters)

Frontiers of Technology and Artificial Intelligence

The author adds that 2020 has provided us with important lessons about technological development, especially with regard to the use of robotics and artificial intelligence.

Over the past year, tech companies have promoted the use of robots more in everyday life, but every time we can see the limits of technology.

In his book, The Economy of Artificial Intelligence, Bootle says that there is one thing that robots and artificial intelligence cannot do better than humans, and that is to be human.

According to him, the development of robots and their ability to help humans accomplish many tasks cannot negate the importance of communicating with humans, which has been proven by remote work experience.

Among the most prominent limits of technological development - according to the author - is the stalled progress in the field of self-driving cars, which clearly shows the superiority of the human brain and the difficulty of replacing it with machines and artificial intelligence, even with regard to simple tasks such as driving a car.

Conflict between Beijing and Washington

The author believes that the most prominent lesson at the international level relates to the pros and cons of globalization.

From his point of view, globalization is not a new phenomenon, as some believe. In the past, there were multiple waves of globalization that ended for various reasons, and humanity benefited from some aspects, and were affected in others.

As for globalization in its current form, it showed signs of weakness even before 2020, and it seemed to be nearing its end, and it seems that the raging conflict between China and the United States will stop it completely, as the writer says.

In his view, the matter goes beyond the trade and technical war and the Corona crisis, as the basis of the conflict is the difference in visions about how to manage the global economic and political system.

The countries of the world cannot - according to him - ignore this clash, and countries like the United Kingdom will have to choose between Beijing and Washington.

The writer concludes that the terrible events of 2020 clearly showed that we are still far from adopting a common global model and unified values ​​for managing societies.