How Microsoft helped my disabled 77 year old father become an astronaut

My 77 year old physically disabled father just became an astronaut and climbed the Peruvian Andes. He did it all while sitting in his wheelchair in the living room on the ground floor of my parents' home to which he is confined.  He did it using Microsoft's mixed reality HoloLens device.

There has been much written of the socioeconomic disruption that advances in technology, such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, will wreak upon the world. Every revolution has upended the previous order, yet this industrial revolution feels somehow different in the potential magnitude and the compressed timeframe over which it is expected to play out.

There are those who even see a dystopian future. There have been many recent references to the 1984 movie Terminator and prognostications of a world taken over by machines.  The future would seem less menacing were it not for how quickly technology advances are eclipsing society's ability to keep pace.

Every revolution creates anxieties, dislocation, disruption and it is a tautology that within creative destruction, we must destroy some of that which we once valued. I see these things as well, understand the view and sometimes even succumb to worrying about them.

The vast majority of times however, I see the incredible potential to make life better and help people and organizations achieve more. That is the mission at Microsoft where I make a difference in the travel, hospitality, restaurant and transportation space.

I prefer to think of my father who at age 77- unable to go up stairs much less travel across town- just travelled around the world to the Peruvian Andes and across the solar system using Microsoft's Hololens. The look of wonder as he watched Earth from space, suspended and floating in his living room above his coffee table, as few humans have actually done in reality, brought a tear to my eye. He grew up dreaming of the heavens as a boy and lived through the space age. His generation was the first to put a man on the moon. Our generation will be the first to enable everyone to experience it too, even if it is in mixed or virtual reality for now.

I think of companies, such as Ascape (Ascapevr.com), that I advise, which is opening the gateway for people to preview destinations and experiences before they book and travel as well as enabling those without the financial or physical means to experience the world. I think of students and children who could not just see, but experience, history and places by "actually being there" and interacting with the environment through mixed and virtual reality.

For my friends in travel, hospitality, restaurants and transportation, I see technology growing demand and the pie, not cannibalizing it. I see previewing destinations and experiences and capturing them in fuller reality as increasing the appetite and desire for travel. I see it opening the door to inspiring children and students who otherwise might not have the means to experience travel growing up to be inspired to travel and pursue careers in our industry.

Imagine traveling to Greece and standing in front of the ruins of the Parthenon and seeing an overlay of what the Acropolis looked like in its full glory? Imagine seeing ancient Greece alive all around you in high definition in how it looked through the ages with whatever depth of narration and detail you would like to explore?

I see the world opening up for those who are unable to travel physically or financially or go places safely.  Travel will become even more expansive and inclusive and help foster the understanding of others, something the world seems ever more in need of around the globe.  I see new possibilities to connect people and provide amazing experiences while still delivering the uniquely human touch that is the heart of hospitality. Yes, some jobs and needs will go away and yes, that will cause pain and challenge, but other opportunities will arise.

Providing staff with the ability to provide more personalized, enjoyable and efficient experiences and freeing them up from mundane, time consuming tasks at scale will open new possibilities. How many of us would forgo online check-in, mobile boarding passes, TSA pre-check, etc. at the airport to return to the days of waiting in one long snaking line so we could have a person take more time to handle our check in?  Service must evolve to serve customers better based on their evolving needs and expectations-  this has always been the case.  

Revolutions are seldom easy, often painful, and unfortunately, not very evenly distributed initially. The costs may seem greater than the rewards during times of great change. For every fear around the future of technology, I see the potential to make life better. For every area of disruption and decline, I see new opportunities and needs arising.

When the automobile first was introduced, there was backlash because it was slow, loud, and frightened all the horses pulling carriages. An entire economy around horse drawn vehicles was upended as happened with the advent of other disruptive innovations. We are still in the early days of the 4th industrial revolution.

The greater challenge to me is not if change will happen, but when it does, how we can shift and help transition folks from declining areas of need to those areas that the future will require. It will not be easy, without pain nor without destruction. It will however, lead to whole new worlds of opportunity and make life still better.

Don't take my word for it- just ask my 77 year old astronaut / mountaineering father. While his head may be in the virtual clouds and heavens, his two feet are still firmly planted on the ground. Seeing him smile like the young boy he once was dreaming of space is an image I will never forget.  It reminds me that the point is to make life here on earth better. 

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Stuart W. Greif is Microsoft's Senior Executive for the Travel, Hospitality, Restaurant, and Transportation industries. He is based in San Francisco/Silicon Valley.  Stuart previously led J.D. Power's Global Travel & Hospitality practice and 8 other industry groups as well as strategy, business development, and product development globally for the firm.  He is a sought after industry expert who has appeared on and been quoted by major media, including CNBC, WSJ, CNN, FOX, USAToday, NYT, NPR among many other major media outlets. 

Stuart started his career at Accenture (Andersen Consulting) and holds a MBA in Strategy and General Management from The Darden School at the University of Virginia.