Ten Positives to Talk About as 2014 Comes to an End

December 19, 2014 – In my last posting I presented ten disturbing statistics about our 21st century world. There are, however, signs that we humans haven’t yet succumbed to a hopeless future.  So let’s look at ten technological innovations and the positive disruption they bring to this century, leading to a much better outcome by the year 2100.

1. The Internet Age has created a shared knowledge engine that in combination with ubiquitous communication technology is making it possible for us to disseminate information to anyone with access. This is giving us the means to educate everyone on the planet. Just how quickly? By 2020 more than 4 billion of us will be connected to the Internet through smartphones and other computing technologies. By 2030 that number will reach 7 billion, equivalent to the total number of people currently on Earth. Bringing all these minds up to speed to tackle world challenges is something we have never been able to do in the past. Harvesting the collective intelligence of all humanity will be revolutionary.
2. The universal translator is so close to reality that already today I can converse in real time with hundreds of millions of people around the planet who don’t speak English. In another decade that number will be in the billions. What does it mean? Breaking down language barriers will produce numerous dividends.  Language determines the way we think. Language and culture go hand in hand. By bridging the language gap we narrow the differences that divide us. We lessen the likelihood of war. And if by 2030 we all become partners in a global conversation regardless of the language we speak we will have altered the human experience forever.
3. The spread of social media is another force for change. It is altering the political conversation in ways that are proving disruptive to existing institutions of governance. Online communities are crossing national boundaries, mobilizing people around causes of global consequence. With the positives  have come the negatives. But the social media world we have created has the potential to lessen the things that divide us and allow us to transcend national limitations.
4. We have exponentially increased our understanding of the human genome and the genomes of many other species to the point where we are zeroing in on unlocking the key to fighting almost any disease. We are already creating personalized drug therapies to reverse cancer. We are developing vaccines and other medications that turn on the switch to enhance our natural immunity to fight endemic disease. Those vector-borne diseases spread by insects may soon no longer be the threat they pose today. Our harnessing of the body’s own means to fight cancer may render this scourge once and for all. And in discovering how to fight disease we have unlocked the secret of aging. We are about to learn how to reverse it. As a result we are witnessing the extension of the average human life span to a century and beyond. In fact, in the 21st century the first babies will be born that will live multiple centuries and possibly even a thousand years.
5. We have advanced the intelligence of the machines we build to a point where artificial intelligence may surpass our human intelligence within the next two decades. This could be a Pandora’s Box, or provide all humanity with a powerful new set of tools to address the challenges of the century. Artificial intelligence could be a partner that gives us different insights and exponentially accelerate invention and innovation.
6. We are getting closer to introducing new battery technologies that will make renewable energy a 24 x 7 solution to help us ween ourselves from burning carbon. We have learned to create solar power generating cloth that can be draped almost anywhere. We have harnessed through concentrators and new lens technologies, more of the Sun’s energy than ever before. I have written about the evolution of batteries that no longer require liquid oxidizers but rather use ambient air. This means batteries will be lighter in weight and far more versatile for use in industry, homes and transportation. These are the inventions that will drive us into the age of the electric and fuel cell vehicle by 2030. And this means a decline in the burning of carbon as we retire the internal combustion engine once and for all.
7. We are developing new nuclear energy solutions to lessen our reliance on carbon energy sources. Next generation fission reactors that can burn spent fuels from older nuclear facilities and that leave no waste are in development. I have described fusion technology solutions that are also at a point where commercial application is less than a decade away. By 2030 this means we can phase out coal-fired power and begin to lower our current reliance on natural gas-fired power as an interim stop gap.
8. Our understanding of genomics is already revolutionizing agricultural production. GMO may be a dirty word to many, but its practical use is an important option to address the forecast human population bomb of 10.9 billion by 2100. Today GMO golden rice is ending childhood blindness for hundreds of thousands of children every year. And GMO rice is fighting diseases like rice blast that have a devastating impact on crop yields in areas where that grain staple is the key source of calories. If we can get over our aversion to Monsanto GMO intellectual property pursuits and marketing practices then maybe we can harness the incredible genomic research coming from universities and research facilities around the world.
9. We are no longer just creatures of the Earth. Over the past decade we have ventured into semi-permanent residence in an off-world environment called the International Space Station. This is our first baby step on the way to becoming a multi-planet species. Many question the value of a space presence for our species. But there is no doubt that by 2100 we will have established permanent human habitation in Earth orbit and beyond. The technology we develop to achieve these permanent self-sufficient habitats will pay immeasurable dividends for us here on Earth.
10. The most fundamental question, “are we alone in the Universe?” will be answered in this century. We have discovered thousands of exoplanets. In the past month we have found organic compounds on a comet and measured methane emissions in the atmosphere of a planetary neighbor. We have also discovered that life exists in places on Earth that defy our previous understanding of the conditions needed for living things. Undoubtedly the 21st century will show us that life is prevalent off our world, that we are not the sole planet or space body where life exists. And if it can exist in the extremes of a cold and dry world like Mars, or in the icy world of an asteroid, moon or comet then we owe it to ourselves to focus on ensuring that we continue to maintain, protect and perpetuate it here on Earth.