In 1985 Freeman Dyson wrote a book with a chapter on the 21st century in which he predicted that the three most important technologies would be genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and space travel. The only place astronauts are going is down, if they're lucky, and robots are not much smarter than they were 16 years ago. But we all know about Dolly, the cloned sheep, as genetic engineering forges ahead.
So out go space travel and artificial intelligence in the list of three. Dyson replaces them with the Internet and solar energy.
This overview of science and its possibilities is primarily concerned with the contribution of technology to social justice, levelling the gap between rich and poor, and preserving the planet. If you think this is academic pie in the sky just think of the impact of clean water, vaccination and antibiotics on people's lives.
We could stop the flow of economic refugees from the countryside to mega-cities like Mexico City by making the village a source of wealth. How does a Mexican village become a source of wealth? Dyson's answer is that solar energy is universal, genetic engineering makes it possible to use that energy to create local wealth and the Internet can link the village with the rest of the world.
Cheap solar energy and genetic engineering can support industry in the countryside and modern farming, mining and manufacturing. The Net will be used for secondary economic activities such as food processing and education.
Genetically modified food has a bad press and anti-capitalist lobbies are rightly suspicious of the motives of the multinationals behind it. But Dyson has a different take on this. He argues that traditional farming has always been based on genetic engineering and that all major crops and farm animals are the product of selective breeding.
This writer has a dream: the wrongs of the world can be put right (or at least drastically modified). Ethics must guide technology in the direction of social justice.
This is a thought-provoking book that asks serious questions about the future.
jmulqueen@irish-times.ie
