What gives you hope about the future?
Young People (26)
“Kids these days know that brushing their teeth prevents cavities, and also that human activity is contributing to climate change in a major way”
The younger generation who are angry, really good at organizing, and remind me of my grandparents’ generation—all of whom were anti-fascist activists. Good luck to them. They are going to need it.—Farah Mendlesohn, historian, associate fellow of the Anglia Ruskin Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy, and managing editor of Manifold Press, UK“Seeing stars in kids‘ eyes when talking about science”
Technology (19)
Social mobilization and open dissemination and sharing of information that social media facilitates.—Davina Durgana, international human rights statistician, USAThe advancement of technology and its ability to solve real-life problems and thereby improve the quality of human lives.—Tanzima Hashem, professor in the department of computer science and engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and TechnologySocial media and communications technology will help distribute opportunities and knowledge, and help more widely across the globe.—Sameer Hinduja, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center and professor of criminology and criminal justice at Florida Atlantic UniversityDevelopments in machine-learning and AI. I‘m confident machine-learning will be much more useful for defense than offense.“The democratization of access to basic services like education, healthcare, mobility, and security for the emerging middle class”
The possibility of computing and robotics will lead to a day where there are no more disasters—because disasters can be predicted and prepared for and because the response and recovery are immediate and seamless.—Dr. Robin Murphy, professor of computer science and engineering at Texas A&M University and author of Robotics Through Science Fiction: Artificial Intelligence Explained Through Six Classic Robot StoriesMore and more governments in the developing world are seeing science, technology, and innovation as pillars of society. I can foresee more investment in science education and development in the future.—Tebello Nyokong, distinguished professor of medicinal chemistry and nanotechnology at Rhodes University, South AfricaCarbon sequestration technology. It‘s not where it needs to be yet, but is making dramatic improvements in terms of cost and viability. Reversing the impact of climate change and the mass migrations it will cause requires us to not just curb our emissions but to pull CO2 out of the atmosphere and bury it back into rocks. The question now is, will we cut our emissions and start sequestering carbon soon enough to avoid the worst and deadliest outcomes of climate change?“More and more governments in the developing world are seeing science, technology, and innovation as pillars of society”
Equity and Social Justice (18)
Seeing problems like the issue of bias in artificial intelligence being worked by such incredible and diverse minds like Renee Teate, Vincente Ordóñez Román, and Ines Montani (just to name a few) is a serious relief. These people are committed to solving a problem that has plagued humanity since the dawn of mankind. Their job is nothing less than eliminating human prejudice from electrical thought processing, and their work so far is astounding. Anyone doing this work are heroes to me and are doing a job that is desperately needed to secure a safer future for all of humanity.“The #MeToo movement. Shame is shifting from victim to predator”
The rise and growing power of the feminine, particularly the associated values and priorities, such as caring for each other, the planet and other creatures; (some) men‘s growing acceptance of their own feminine aspects; and the visible evidence of the disintegration of patriarchy (despite the backlash).“Righteous anger about our political moment is driving a powerful wave of activism and organizing”
‘Big Picture’ and Abstract Hopes (15)
[Quoting Ursula Le Guin] “We live in capitalism, its power seems inescapable—but then, so did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.” From your lips to the ears of the Kindly Ones, O wise dame.—Brooke Bolander, speculative fiction writer and author of The Only Harmless Great Thing, USAEverything I can currently imagine about it is likely silly and wrong.—Lera Boroditsky, professor of cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego[Quoting Galileo] ”The book of nature is open before our eyes.” There is so much beautiful phenomena in the Universe to discover and share.—Robert Caldwell, theoretical physicist and professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College“Everything I can currently imagine about it is likely silly and wrong”
The universe is large enough that somewhere in it there may be truly intelligent life.—Matthew Colless, director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National UniversityMother Earth will forgive us when we decide collectively to correct course.—Justin Crepp, associate professor of physics and director of the Engineering and Design Core Facility at the University of Notre DameMusic. One sound and one silence can encompass and catalyze change in the world.—Nina Eidsheim, musicologist at the University of California, Los Angeles and author of Sensing Sound and The Race of Sound“Music. One sound and one silence can encompass and catalyze change in the world”
Human Ingenuity (13)
It won’t be like the past. We will constrain consumption through a shift of at least two orders of magnitude in the efficiency of consumption of raw materials. This needs to be based on systemic innovations in almost all aspect of our economies.“We do a lot of stupid things, but can think deeply with our big brains and are able to learn from experience”
Human ingenuity.—Alexandra Cousteau, explorer, environmental activist, and filmmaker, GermanyHumans are very smart. We can think not only of solutions to problems but also are capable of remarkable insights and inventions. I work on fundamental science. The same drive that pushes us to explore our Earth, to head into space, and to think about the Cosmos, has given us the brainpower to survive and I hope it always will.—Katherine Freese, George Eugene Uhlenbeck Collegiate Professor of Physics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and guest professor of physics at Stockholm University, SwedenHumankind created most of this problem and therefore humankind has the power to stop it.—Mitchell Joachim, associate professor of practice at New York University and co-founder of Terreform ONEThe use of our expanding intellectual prowess to accelerate our appreciation of the universe.—Chung-Pei Ma, Judy Chandler Webb Professor of Astronomy and Physics at the University of California, BerkeleyHumans are adaptable. That‘s how we got to where we are now.—Asia Murphy, wildlife photographer, writer, and PhD student in ecology at Pennsylvania State University”The same drive that pushes us to explore our Earth, to head into space, and to think about the Cosmos, has given us the brainpower to survive”
Humanity has done wonderful things on Earth and can move on to do even more wonderful things among the stars, provided we keep a healthy reserve of boundless, irreverent, and unreasonable optimism. “The meek will inherit the Earth. The rest of us are going to the stars” (a quote often attributed to [Robert] Heinlein‘s Lazarus Long).—Giulio Prisco, writer, technology expert, futurist, cosmist, and transhumanist, ItalyThe number of good people who want and can do better, and people‘s desire to be inspired. I am also personally inspired by how much we have learned in the last century and the ingenuity and perseverance that has led to great achievements.—Lisa Randall, Frank B. Baird, Jr. professor of physics at Harvard UniversityWe have the recipe for success as a species: We are incredibly resilient and creative in the face of adversity, can build on the knowledge and developments of prior generations, and have a unique capacity for individual self-improvement over the course of a single lifetime. If you are reading this, you are amazingly lucky to be alive right now, because today is the best time to be alive in human history. Yesterday was the best time before that, and I can‘t wait to see what tomorrow brings.—Daniel Szafir, assistant professor of computer science, creative technologies, and information science, and aerospace engineering and director of the Interactive Robotics and Novel Technologies Laboratory (IRON Lab) at the University of Colorado at Boulder"We will find our way out of this dark, dark valley. We always have"
Human Kindness and Compassion (10)
Finding examples of kindness in humanity. Even after disasters and wars, there are examples of this. That gives me hope that we will find a way to continue.—Leroy Chiao, PhD, former NASA astronaut and ISS Commander, and CEO and co-founder of OneOrbit LLC, USAPeople, and the best ideas of what humanity can be, are tremendously resilient.—Rayvon Fouché, professor and director of the American Studies program at Purdue UniversitySometimes we glimpse the very best of humanity when tragedy strikes. This gives me hope that no matter how bad it gets, we can help each other make it better.“We‘re finally learning to talk about our feelings“
Local governments and NGOs are doing great work to embrace facts and to make necessary changes to improve the environment and human health. I see effective actions that come out of grassroot efforts.—Pamela Templer, professor in the department of biology and director of the PhD Program in Biogeoscience at Boston University”Hope is a dangerous word”