To Boldly Share
Star Wars or Mad Max? How we address inequality will determine whether technology brings benefits or blight.
By Vivek Wadhwa
The ugly state of politics in the United States, Britain, and elsewhere illustrates the impact of income inequality and the widening technological divide. More and more people are being left behind by innovation, and they are protesting in every way they can – including at the ballot box. The situation will only get worse — unless we find ways to share the prosperity we are creating.
We have a choice: to build the bright future of Star Trek or head into the dystopia of Mad Max. It really is up to us; we must tell our policymakers what choices we want them to make, and we must educate the public on the critical issues. The key is to ensure that the technologies we are building have the potential to benefit everyone equally; balance the risks and the rewards; and minimize the dependence that technologies create. But first, we must learn about these advances ourselves and be part of the future they are creating. That future cannot be ignored—it is already happening, faster than we realize.
I know because I already live in this future.
I drive a Tesla electric vehicle, which drives itself on highways. My house in Menlo Park, Calif., is a “passive” home that expends minimal energy on heating or cooling. With the solar panels on my roof, my energy bills are close to zero — and that includes charging the car. My iPhone is encased in a cradle laced with electronic sensors that I can place against my chest to generate a detailed electrocardiogram. Because I have a history of heart trouble, including a life-threatening heart attack, knowing that I can communicate with my doctors in seconds is a comfort.
I spend much of my time talking to entrepreneurs and researchers about breakthrough technologies, such as artificial intelligence and robotics. These entrepreneurs are building a better future, often at a breakneck pace. One team built in three weeks a surgical-glove prototype that delivers tactile guidance to doctors during examinations. Another built visualization software that tells farmers the health of their crops using images taken by off-the-shelf video cameras flown on drones. That technology took four weeks to develop. You get the idea. I do, in fact, live in the future as it is forming.
Such rapid, ubiquitous change has, of course, a dark side. Many jobs as we know them will disappear. Our privacy will be further compromised. We have to worry about biological terrorism and killer drones. Someone you know—maybe you—will have his or her DNA sequence and fingerprints stolen. Man and machine will begin to merge into a single entity. You will have as much food as you can possibly eat, for better and for worse.
It is imperative that the academics and scientists who are creating this future be involved in directing it. In particular, they should contribute ideas, research, and models so that the new economy works for everyone and works efficiently. Healthcare, child care, retirement accounts, access to home ownership and college—building blocks of the American dream—must be redesigned so they’re available at an affordable cost to parttime or temporary employees, not just salaried workers.
Whether we realize it or not, we are only just commencing the greatest shift that society has seen since the dawn of humankind. And as in all other manifest shifts—from the use of fire for shelter and for cooking to the rise of agriculture and the development of sailing vessels, internal-combustion engines, and computing—this one will arise from breathtaking advances in technology. This shift, though, is both broader and deeper, and is happening far more quickly than the previous tectonic shifts.
Even many of those left behind have mastered social media sufficiently to spread their anger and anxiety. Their voices will get louder until they can reasonably expect the next frontier to be shared.
Vivek Wadhwa is a Distinguished Fellow and professor at Carnegie Mellon University Engineering at Silicon Valley and director of research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at Duke University’s School of Engineering.