Almost every technological breakthrough can be viewed as a result of
utopian thinking--attempts to improve our world or ourselves by applying imagination and
ingenuity to realizing a dream (or preventing a nightmare). This sort of utopian thinking
could be a key to human development, evolution, and even survival, argues social
researcher and educator Tsvi Bisk.
"The primary human survival tool is not instinct but the reasoning
mind evaluating the human environment," Bisk writes in this issue. "Those who
are better at this usually have more successful lives. Societies and cultures that
encourage this kind of thinking are usually much more developed."
Bisk argues for a new, more-practical approach to utopian thinking that
synthesizes the scientist's reason and the humanist's values. In a neo-utopia, futurists
would be the heroes. (See "Toward a More Practical Utopianism," page 22
of the print edition.)
Practical utopianism would recognize the risks as well as the rewards of
technologies such as genetic testing, which may soon enable us to prevent potential
problems like alcoholism. But one result might be compulsory genetic testing and
therapies, points out science writer Steven Stocker. In the case of alcoholism, our
humanity may be better served by focusing on behavioral rather than medical approaches, he
suggests. (See "Finding the Future Alcoholic," page 42 of the print edition.)
In envisioning the preferred future of the Internet and the World Wide
Web, most people would want more control over such things as their privacy and the
distribution of their intellectual property. But technology is also making it more
possible for others to control you, points out technology trend watcher Marcel
Bullinga. A "Control Web," as he imagines it, could be developed that
not only tells you whether the car you've rented passed its last safety inspection, but
also tattles on you if you're not certified to drive on the highway--and then stops you
from trying to do so. (See "The Internet of the Future: To Control or Be
Controlled," page 27 of the print edition.)
