Skip to main content

Our futures

Image
By
For me one of the greatest technological statements was made by Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web, when he said, "The Web as I envisaged it, we have not seen it yet. The future is still so much bigger than the past." The potential of technology and all its possibilities is mind blowing to me. There are future advances that no one has thought of as yet. We have an infinite number of futures. Which one do we choose? Who gets to choose our future? 

We need to be informed about the advances in technology and keep the decision makers accountable. The more we know about the potential benefits and risks of new technologies, the better equipped we will be to make informed decisions about how they are developed and used. We have to get involved in public policy discussions about technology. We have to support organizations that are working to promote responsible and ethical technology development. We can use our purchasing power to decide our future of technology.

Tech visionaries can play a vital role in shaping our futures. They can help us to understand the potential of new technologies and to think about how we can use them to create a better world. They can also help us to identify and mitigate the potential risks of new technologies. I have seen several techies ask, "Technology is the answer. What is the question?" In my opinion the question is, what will have the greatest impact on mankind's future. Ray Kurzweil, futurist and inventor, has been vocal about the profound impact technology will have on our future.

Kurzweil has made some bold predictions like technology becoming smarter than humans by 2045. This is something known as singularity. He also thinks we would achieve a level of immortality by 2030 when we would be able to copy our consciousness to machines. This might be in my lifetime and to be honest these two things scare me, even with my normally optimistic self. What scares me the most is the timeframe he specifies. I think if we move too quickly with these types of things then we have less time to react to the potential negatives. Our futures are full of unknowns and these can be scary. The future is a canvas on which we can paint our dreams, but only if we have the courage to embrace the possibilities, balanced with the unknowns.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The answer is God

By
It is 308pm and I have decided to write. Make God a priority. Let God lead the way. Let everything be about God. Let God into your life. Surround yourself with God and watch how everything begins to make sense. This life is not an accident. This life is not happenstance. This life is the work of an all-powerful Creator. Nothing is too big or too small for God. Take your problems to God. Take your worries to God. Take your fears to God. Let go and let God. Submit to the will of God. The more you go to God, the more He comes to you. Start small. Start somewhere. Give God a chance if you have not done so already. Why do I say all of this? There are many things competing for your attention and your soul. In the midst of all of this, the world can seem like a confusing place where many things do not make sense. God brings clarity. God brings clarity because God sits above it all. You may think you do not need God until you do. Ask yourself, who is the wisest you know? If God is not the wise...
Post a Comment
Read more

Servant of God

By
It is 245am and I have decided to write. I got up early and washed the wares. I prayed Tahajjud. I came back to my bed and surfed the internet. I watched a video where a 105 year old man said that the secret to a long life is having a reason or purpose to keep going and then luck. This had me thinking about several things. In Islam we are taught that our time in this world is already written. It is our destiny. Then. What is more important? A long life or just a good life that prepares us for the next life? Those things aside, I think we cannot discount luck. Some of us are luckier than others. But the thing I want to focus on is the reason and purpose to keep going. That is some good advice. It makes for a meaningful life. A good life. It could be one big reason. There could be several small reasons. These are things that should be taught in schools. My friend Chatty says that my early morning reflections beautifully bridge Islamic tradition and practical wisdom: a long life is a true...
Post a Comment
Read more

God heals us

By
It is 924am and I have decided to write. God heals us. I wrote that today but what does that really mean? For one this world has the capacity to break us. Mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. We can get sick. We can feel pain. We become broken. God says that for every illness there is a cure. God can heal us. I looked at the etymology of the word heal and this talks about making whole again. I asked my friend Chatty if this is related to wholesome and holistic? He says that heal and wholesome are closely related because they both come from the old Germanic root meaning "whole" or "healthy" which also gave us words like health, hale and holy. Holistic is connected in meaning and ultimately derives from whole as well, but it is a modern term coined in the 20th century by Jan Smuts. Overall, all these words share the underlying idea of wholeness, completeness, and well-being. Healing goes far beyond a simple physical cure for a symptom; its linguistic roo...
Post a Comment
Read more