We pay 10 times more attention to negative news than to positive news. We are inundated with negative news on every conceivable device.
Is our world really doing that badly? In this blog, I want to show that things are improving, including the most recent (technological) developments.
NB: I am not talking about ignoring the problems that this world still has. I sincerely hope that with the help of technology, mankind will be able to ensure that this world as a whole becomes better.
I want to take you to a more positive worldview than we encounter daily. Feel free to forward this article to a gloomy fellow human.
Are you coming with me?
Health
Wherever you look in the world, all mortality rates have fallen enormously in the last 300 years.
The following graph shows life expectancy at birth in different countries. Just 100 years ago, life expectancy for a baby in India or South Korea was only 23 years. Today, life expectancy in India has trebled. In South Korea, it has quadrupled, making it higher than in the United Kingdom.Source: Our World in Data
Healthcare continues to make great leaps in development. A Chinese robot dentist implanted a 3D printed molar in a female patient last month. Human medical staff only assisted with the preparation.
Imagine robots being able to perform medical procedures all over the world for the price of electricity (a robot doesn't need a doctor's salary).
2. Environment
30 years ago, world leaders signed the Montreal Protocol. This international treaty was drafted to protect the ozone layer. Today, it can be concluded that this treaty has prevented 280 million cases of skin cancer. Furthermore, 45 million cases of cataracts and 1.5 million deaths due to skin cancer. Without this treaty, the world would be 4 degrees warmer by 2050. Due to this lower warming, major droughts, floods, and tropical storms will occur less frequently.
This graph shows the decrease in the number of fatalities caused by natural disasters:
Source: Our World in Data
Why?
New technologies (satellites, sensors, networks, machine learning) enable humans to predict and model natural disasters earlier and more accurately. These models provide better and faster warning systems.
Drones in the environment Until now, animals were counted manually by researchers from helicopters. Nowadays, drones collect footage, animals are counted digitally, and observed with increasing accuracy. Humans help machines to improve the algorithms.
Faster, cheaper and more accurate.
In India (Bengaluru), drones are being used in areas where people have difficulty accessing, to map deforestation.
What would happen if thousands of drones were deployed to better protect the environment?
3. Energy
A measure of economic growth, living standards, and poverty reduction is access to electricity.
More people than ever in the world have access to electricity. And the absolute number of people who still lack electricity is falling, despite the rise in the world's population.
See the graph below to see how more and more people can access electricity.
Source: Our World in Data
In India, 451 million people had access to electricity in 1990. By 2014, this figure had risen to nearly 801 million.
Afghanistan has seen an even greater increase. In 2000, 0.86% had access to electricity; by 2014, this figure had risen to 89.5%.
Renewable energy sources are becoming cheaper and more accessible. Worldwide, solar energy prices continue to fall.
Ultimately, the entire world population will be able to use (almost) free electricity.
4. Food
Despite the (mostly negative) headlines, we are making steady progress in tackling global food shortages and hunger:
Source: Our World in Data
More and more (with the help of technology) food shortages can be transformed into abundance. I have read articles about bio-printed meat, vertical farming (vegetable flats), agricultural robots, and drones.
Two examples from 2017:
- Men-free farms On a remote 1.5-hectare farm in the UK, Harper Adams University and Precision Decisions have recently harvested their first barley. Special? Absolutely: the farm is run autonomously. Instead of human farm labourers, Hands Free Hectare uses self-driving vehicles, machine learning algorithms, and drones to plant, feed, and harvest.
- Food from electricity Another grand idea in the fight against food shortages and malnutrition comes from Finland, where researchers are creating food from electricity. The scientific team at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) has developed a machine that runs on renewable energy to produce nutritious, single-celled protein.
5. Mobility
Just like electricity and mobile phone ownership, the number of cars in the world is increasing. This too is an example of increasing prosperity.
Source: Our World in Data
Naturally, environmental pollution also increases as a result. Although there is something to be said against this: engines are becoming more economical, and the number of electric vehicles is increasing. Furthermore, we are seeing a (small) rise in the number of car-sharing services, particularly in large cities.
But let's be honest: The number of car kilometres in the Netherlands has never been so high.. More and more cars are also being bought, more than ever before.
Can we not find a glimmer of hope in our last subject?
Doesn't our government try its best?
There's a development that is remarkable. Car ownership and car use are declining among people under 30. That's not just the case in the Netherlands, but worldwide in most wealthy countries such as the USA, Germany, Japan, and Australia. Apparently, the younger generation will set a good example for us. Less attachment to car ownership, but valuing usage. Among youngsters, you'll find many more avid Snappcar, BlaBla car, and car-sharing users than among my peers.
For me, the beginning of this year was therefore a great experience to have with my son travelling without a car be. More people in their forties should do that.
We live in an exciting time, full of change. And if your way of thinking allows you to see problems as challenges, the future will become even more exciting.
This article is largely inspired by the article Why the World is (still) better than you think by Peter Diamandis.
