Well, at least they’re not talking about it enough.
Immigration, building up walls and reenforcing borders seem to be the main hot topics these days.
Seriously, though… You’ve got some politicians focused on trying to build a wall. Others are trying to go back to medieval times by leaving the European Union. And others, simply put, rather see the biggest rainforest in our planet burn in front of their eyes rather than accepting any foreign aid.
Crazy world in which we live today.
Anyway, here are three things that should be at the top of the list of the agenda of all politicians.
The Environmental Problem We’re Facing
Global Warming is literally slapping humanity in the face and we are not doing squat about it.
The poles are melting. The atmosphere has never been more polluted. Yet Russia and other middle-eastern countries keep burning coal like their lives are dependent on it.
While it might be true that a lot of economies are heavily dependent on oil and coal, we need to stop and analyze if it’s actually worth dying for. A lot of people don’t realize that global warming might the reason that makes human go extinct.
The US left-wing has tried to pass the Green New Deal early this year, which forces the entire country to go under strict social and economic reforms to drastically put to use new renewable energy and eco-friendly resources. Something similar is happening in other countries like the UK. Unfortunately, as for the US, the Donald made fun of this and so far nothing seems to be happening. It looks like we’re going to have to wait for someone to replace this pumpkin-head to see if we can actually start doing something about the environment.
Just as a quick comment in case I haven’t made this clear enough: We are in need of drastic measures. Some damages are already leaving permanent, irreparable effects on our planet. The more we wait, the bigger the damage will be in the long run.
The Nuclear Problem
We live in a fully globalized world. The actions that Spaniards collectively make affect not just themselves but also people all over the world. And the same can be said about any other country in the world.
Humility is a trait that we’re not teaching enough at school. While nationalism isn’t bad per se, it’s kind of not the solution that we need for today’s problems. And yet I only see more and more emerging nationalistic (some even fascist) governments all around the world.
Today’s globalized world demands a more humble approach to solving major conflicts. The US, Great Britain, China, North Korea, Iran… Pretty much every major power is involved in this horrendous race towards building the biggest, most powerful, most efficient, most killer nuclear arsenal and this only ends one (nasty) way if we don’t put an end to this.
Plus, it’s not just about stupid leaders having access to all of these horrific weapons. As tech advances, so do weapons. 200 years ago, we had swords hanging by the end of our rifles. Today we could wipe New York City off the map if we wanted to thanks to nuclear bombs. Who knows what we’ll be using 200 years from now.
But keep this in mind…
It’s not just governments who get access to weapons. So far, the worst we’ve experienced by a terrorist attack is a couple of airplanes flying into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center. However, it’s just a matter of time till technology, money and corruption get nuclear weapons in the hands of the wrong people.
Up until today, terrorism has been about spreading fear amongst people in hopes of getting governments to commit irrational actions. This hasn’t worked out and will never work out. People move on and don’t let evil actions corrupt their souls and minds. Then again, one day we’ll talk about terrorism as not as a way of spreading fear, but rather as a way of spreading annihilation wherever it goes. Hopefully this day will never get here, but we need to start taking action now.
The Technological Problem
Biotech and infotech are the next step in human evolution. Or they might be what ends up killing human nature and consciousness if global warming doesn’t finish us first. But chill out, terminators aren’t getting real anytime soon. Movies and sci-fy have completely deceived what infotech and biotech are about. Let’s talk about this.
Every single time I speak to people about how AI is getting rid of billions of jobs within the next 10 to 20 years I get all sorts of funny looks thrown back at me. And when I tell people that governments aren’t going to let us drive – that it’ll be cars responsible for driving themselves in the not so distant future, I have to put up with comments like “shut up Tony”. The truth is, technology is safer and more efficient than us in every way. Trying to compete against tech is like trying to walk through a solid wall. It doesn’t matter how hard you try, the wall is solid and you’re not getting through. And, just like you can’t walk through concrete walls, you can’t outperform artificial intelligence.
The truth is – these things are happening. And governments and politicians need to seriously start thinking about how on earth we’re going to regulate the use of AI and technology. I mean, what are humans going to do for work if we can’t compete against machines? (Perfect moment for you to read my article on Universal Basic Income).
Today, Google, Apple, Facebook collect so much data on us that in twenty years they’ll know more about ourselves than even we do. And it’s just a matter of time till we’re able to ask Siri whether we should study engineering or law according to our personalities. The truth is, Siri will know you better than you know yourself.
This is one of those arguments where you might be thinking; this guy is unreal. He’s so out of his god damn mind. But time will prove me right. Big corporations aren’t even that interested in making money today. All they want is our data because this is what’s going to be valuable in the long-run. Data is what’s going to determine power. With data you can manipulate people into doing whatever you want.
Here’s the question that I’m putting out there… How do we make sure that governments, given all the data that they have on us, don’t manipulate us into convincing us that taking over another nation is a good idea? Or that Jews or Muslims should be exterminated? Or that all Mexicans that come over to the US are rapists and should be deported?
I mean, if the government knows exactly who we are, what we like and what we do according to our personalities – how do we make sure that they’re not using our data to twist our minds and control us?
Remember, today we are still vastly in control of our consciousness and Siri isn’t quite as smart. But these are all things that we should be thinking about already. Technology has made us the most efficient animals to walk this planet. But, without due diligence, it might just be what gets rid of us as well.
Recommended read: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
