A BETTER WORLD THROUGH TECHNOLOGY?

Interest in human development has increased in recent years, possibly due to the residual effects of a twentieth century, which largely has been characterized by strong social and political conflicts, including two world wars and a degree of social and economic marginalization, which sometimes has had even more devastating effects than previous ones, especially in terms of poverty, disease, violence and injustice. However, at the dawn of the twenty-first century some hopeful promises began to appear, as a renewed interest in "humanity" is evidenced. 

It is difficult to deny that the twentieth century has been almost entirely on innovation, and machines have been mistresses of most of the previous century. Artifacts frightened society at first, but the truth is that machines and its successor, the computer, have made the world a better place; currently living conditions are generally better, we live longer, healthier and more comfortably. It is a world that is slowly pulling more people from the yoke of extreme work, reducing poverty and shameful ignorance, while it incorporates them into a reality where at least minimum subsistence conditions are met: education and basic health care, affordable housing and decent work; but that is not all, recently everything happens in a fairly sustainable way with the environment, which is additionally good.

Just forty years ago, it was considered that there was no way to grow and sophisticate society without an inevitable impact on the environment.                     When hippies demanded ecology, were they not labeled at least as ridiculous idealists. However, this welfare spill did not go as fast as expected, and did not go evenly and uniformly, even less, while some sectors are climbing the stairs, others do so on the elevator and a few on rockets. Technology advances grow exponentially -with Moore's Law leading the way- while organizations adapt linearly, and what to say about legislators and bureaucrats who crawl. Why leave millions of people out of the honey that technology promises? It’s unacceptable.

At the time, the industrial revolution brought society a quantum leap, nothing would be as before; however, it was inevitable to go through moments of anxiety when in the name of automation millions of jobs were lost. When evaluated in broader terms, the balance has been positive, although there were many generations that have not done well at all. The curious thing about this process is that because of modernity, eventually almost all jobs that existed in the early twentieth century -made not only by people but also by beasts- were removed; while on the other hand new and more challenging jobs were created, many of which were unimagined a hundred years ago, and that will not exist in the future.

It is expected that for the vast majority, uncertainty and fear grow quite quickly as changes become increasingly evident. Gradually, it becomes a daily reality to find news on important technological advances, previously only interested by specialized media and now swarm in mass media. It is necessary, in this sense, have a version of events or future possibilities that are less imaginative, dispassionate and at the same time more practical and stimulating. Some industries have already suffered the effects firsthand, as has been the case of the music industry, although the impact has expanded in many directions, telecommunications and lately in mass media communications are just two examples. In the future it can reach banking and financial services, where transformations are still unimaginable.

In the end, everything indicates that things are settling in, however, the fact remains that there will be many people marginalized on the road, Why not work then to reduce that risk by adding many more people on the boat of transformation?. It is necessary to raise an inspiring vision of the future where people can be much better than they are today. It is not enough with movies where machines crush humans and dominate them. Is it impossible to imagine a better world?

It's not about trying to mobilize the masses from messages that appeal to rationality or terror. As Moore's Law served for 50 years to push industry to continue doubling every two years, it is necessary to declare the need to build an inclusive and better world for all. The human being deserves a desirable and inspiring future in which such efforts and talents are channeled. There is no doubt that a better future is possible.

* Picture: Neil Harbisson (born 27 July 1982) is a Catalan-raised, British-born, avant-garde artist and cyborg activist based in New York. He is best known for being the first person in the world with an antenna implanted in his skull and for being officially recognized as a cyborg by a government.  His antenna uses audible vibrations in his skull to report information to him. This includes measurements of electromagnetic radiation, phone calls, music, as well as video or images which are translated into sound. His wifi enabled antenna also allows him to receive signals and data from satellites.