Aftermost
by Dr. Claire Nelson, Editor-At Large
W
hen all is said and done what is there that
is left to be said? Buckminster Fuller said:
“I am a passenger on the spaceship Earth”. Yet
‘futurati’ everywhere believe that on Spaceship
Earth we are all crew. We are the ones that must
chart the course, hoist the sails and man the oars
across the oceans of exponential change on which
we sail. We are today a planetary civilization. Many
conservative social movements around the world
seem to pushback to regain more certainty over
our security. But, we can never go back to what
was. Not even if the worst fears were realized and
the Internet failed, solar storms wiped out half
the grid or cyberattacks shut down all ports. Our
consciousness cannot be put back to what it was
before the age of the Anthropocene. These times
call for foresight and careful analysis of our hind-
sight. This will provide us much improved insight
and oversight.
84 HF |
April 2019
We are indeed in the throes of the 4th Industrial revolution. Exponential changes are creating new
possibilities for human expansion. Powerful technologies are converging. Technologies like Artificial
Intelligence (AI), Automation, Block Chain, Cloud computing, Genomic engineering, the Internet of
things, Nano-manufacturing and 3D printing were previously considered in the realm of science fic-
tion. No wonder we often feel anxious when we do stop to think. So, we often don’t. If we do, we may
find that, on closer inspection, the power of the smart phone in our hands may well be too hot to han-
dle. Or, the rush to Nano-engineered food could cause scenarios too terrible to contemplate. Likewise,
what if self-learning AI really became smarter than us? What is the use of futures studies if not to help
illuminate these dark and daunting challenges? Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, architect of the
School Climate Strikes and nominee for a 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, has told us to stop hoping. She
and her peers are asking us to start panicking as if our house is on fire—because it is.
HF | Human Futures 85