Technology
The entire historyof human civilization
is a series of reactions
to advancements in technology.
Here we go again.
TechnologyThe entire historyof human civilization is a series of reactions to advancements in technology. Here we go again. |
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Tomorrow's problems will not be today's problems. Most people, including most futurists and nearly all politicians, envision a future that's like the world of today, only more so (extrapolate an interesting trend or two; assume everything else stays the same). This is a natural human coping mechanism that people use when they don't have a clue. Though this particular coping mechanism has a sound evolutionary basis, I believe we are approaching an era in which it is also likely to prove suicidal. Technologies are coming which will not only radically reshape the existing world order, but will strain the very meanings of the ideas which we now use to make sense of it. Concepts which people now view as fairly clear and concrete, such as "human being", are going to start getting fuzzy. The things we now think are problems, like poverty, disease, pollution, overpopulation, nuclear proliferation, will turn out, in the end, to be no big deal. The real problems are much scarier. The future is coming. You can't stop it. You probably wouldn't anyway. Start paying attention. Here are some clues: Crypto-anarchy Nanotechnology Foresight Institute |