Bill Gates talks about how the world can change after a pandemic

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Billionaire founder of Microsoft Bill Gates speaks frequently about the most pressing problems of mankind. Often, his words become not only the subject of heated debate and meaningful quotes, but also a real prophecy. For example, at a TED talk five years ago, Gates predicted the current pandemic.

This time, the billionaire talked about how the world will change after the coronavirus, and perhaps he will be right again.

If the second wave of the pandemic scares you, we suggest you find out what the founder of Microsoft thinks about this. He has a couple of good news (and only one bad).

In a 2020 podcast, Gates teamed up with actress Rashida Jones and chief U. S. infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci to discuss progress in vaccine development and how the world could change after the pandemic. In total, the billionaire put forward seven main points:

1. Online meetings will become the norm

The first important point is about the changes in the world after the pandemic. According to Gates, the pandemic has dramatically changed the way we think about communication. It turned out that it is also possible to hold meetings and resolve important issues effectively in the virtual space. "Just like women came to work in factories and then stayed in factories during World War II, this idea [of online meetings] will take hold."

The billionaire noted that this will affect not only the working area. People will feel comfortable about “visiting” a doctor or university remotely.

2. The software will develop faster

Since many aspects of life will be transferred to the virtual world, the software for this purpose will have to improve significantly. At the start of the pandemic, many online communication programs were “clumsy enough,” the Microsoft founder noted, but he is confident that technology in this area will develop at a frantic pace. It turns out that the structure of the virtual world after the pandemic will change more than usual.

3. Company offices will become more versatile

If work issues are increasingly discussed remotely, companies may no longer need large offices where all employees are constantly located. This will greatly affect real estate. Gates assumes that several firms will be able to share the same office. For example, on Monday, employees of one company will come, and on Tuesday - another. This part of the new world order after the pandemic in 2021 is not yet practiced, but it is possible that in the near future the office space rental will look like this.

4. People will stop striving to live in large cities

Remote work will also affect the resettlement of people. If now people strive to live in the center, in big cities, then in the future they will look for housing in quieter areas, because the location of the office and career will not affect the choice of home. Indeed, in 2021, moving to the mountains and closer to the sea is a normal phenomenon, which is part of the world after the pandemic.

“Take Seattle and San Francisco for example. Even well-paid employees spend insane amounts of money on rent,”says Gates. “If you are not attached to the office that you have to go to every day, life in such expensive places will become less attractive for you. Rather, you will want to live in your own home in a small town.”

5. People will communicate less with colleagues and more with friends

But such a change in the world after the coronavirus will definitely benefit mental health. Gates notes that the changes will affect our social circle."I think the number of work contacts will decrease, and therefore you will want to communicate more with your friends outside of work."

6. Familiar things will not fall into place for a long time

There are things that may never fit into the new world after the coronavirus pandemic. While discussing what the future holds for the world after the pandemic, all three podcast participants agreed that even after the vaccine arrives, the world will not immediately and completely return to normal. The disease will not disappear quickly and will periodically appear in different regions of the world. This does not mean endless quarantine, but the situation will return to normal only when all countries have access to the vaccine.

7. The next pandemic won't be so bad

After the first pandemic, the scientific world is sure of this - at least, it is much more prose for the mass consciousness to perceive such global problems. Despite the fact that the situation with the coronavirus has severely crippled many countries, Gates is confident that the next time a killer virus appears, the world will deal with it much better. “The main reason why future pandemics will be less devastating is because we will practice more. Our testing tools will get much better. The second time we will not be so stupid,”Gates said.