- Kevin Jacobson
- Richland Center, WI
- United States
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What do you think is the biggest technological challenge the human race will face in the next 30 years?
I see a lot of things wrong with humanity and I just want another persons input.













Carroll Kinkade
Technology needs to advance in partnership with our planet - who is cleaning up the debris from the Fukishima tsunami (no one to blame, but still needs attention)? I read of oceanic drifts of plastics miles long collecting in our oceans that has been noted but no news of how this is being remediated (it isn't about who to blame, it is about polluting the waters we depend upon to provide our sustenance) . Our challenge is managing our own waste in all its forms.
We need sustainable power and clean water. I can not believe we faced power issues in the 70s and petroleum has remained the primary relied upon resource. Wind and solar power research seems to have been in park until only recently.
As I glean the research it appears more motivated on how to get the biggest buck for the least change yet touted (erroneously) as major change to improve use of our resources.
Guess I'm saying the greatest technological challenge is a higher moral compass for the goods and services humanity needs (not wants) to operate effectively.
Arne Havgaard
Tim Leisio
The biggest technological challenge our race is already encountering is the technology of social change.
Smita Purushottam
Roberto grania
are many tasks that have accumulated underdevelopment energetic matrix that is another discussion wars etc
My language is Spanish and this has been translated by the pc
el mayor desafio de la tecnologia es que a traves de ella la humanidad pueda realizar una tarea global comun.
son muchas las tareas que se han acumulado matriz energetica subdesarrollo guerras esa es otra discusion etc
Mi idioma es el español y esto ha sido traducido por el pc
Ron Pearson
Michael Picucci
Jeri Apt
Joe Ling
This will push companies and some developers to go into other area's in technological area's. This will challenge the human race to go into other markets. Or just update to more extreme data collections terms by governments or companies. So when it gets to the stage of when governments stamp down on the companies or the people do it will be a massive challenge to complete it. And fill the market and make sure that in closing it down people don't use the data for worse.
Steve Rockabrand
Leo Walsh
Ezeani Chris
Kevin Jacobson
Ezeani Chris
Jeri Apt
Jerome Delsa
Ezeani Chris
Kevin Jacobson
Josh S
The Permian extinction had essentially 2 phases. in the 1st phase, it is 'proposed' that gradual climate change occured. But the true damage, what truly killed so much 'has been argued to be due to a catastrophic event'. This could be a nuclear war in our situation, but a nuclear war is not caused or even linked to global warming.
From wikipedia talking about artic methan release: "while methane release is indeed likely to amplify global warming to an unknown level, fears that it could lead to catastrophe are possibly overblown."
You say the rate of occurence of natural disasters would increase, im assuming youre talking about hurricanes, flooding, and tornadoes for the most part, because global warming doesnt affect earthquakes and thus dont affect tsunamis. But earlier you said there would be less rain and it would be much drier, so wouldnt the rate of floods and hurricanes decrease?
Temperature increases are much more overblown then they actually are. Im sure you are aware of temperature cycles of hotter and cooler. But even if we take that out and look at the facts and the numbers, temperatures are .1 degrees hotter then they should be, and .4 degrees hotter on the most radical scale. Is this really more dangerous then terrorists with nuclear weapons pointed to our largest cities? hackers distorting shipping and manufacturing throughout the world?
siting graph: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2000_Year_Temperature_Comparison.png
Kevin Jacobson
Josh S
Middle eastern countries, with the exception of israel, are some of the least crowded countries on earth. Most middle eastern countries ie. iraq, afghanistan, iran, saudi arabia have under 200 people per square mile. When looking at a list, these countries have some of the smallest population densities.
'increased amount of water vapor in the atmosphere'
thats what i thought, but didnt you also say this:
' the global climate would be much drier, reducing crop growth when you have a still growing population'
speel about methane:
This is a new field of study, all scientists agree that this does add to the affect of global warming. However, many believe that it may take decades to make a substantial impact. And again, since the question focuses on the immediate 30 years, the theory on arctic methane release does not apply.
'even slight temperature changes have already caused the north poles glaciers to melt significantly'
yes the sea level has risen, on average 1 mm each year. in the context of this question, this would equate to 3 cm. ( 1mm x 30 years) 3 cm of added sea level posts relatively small consequences when compared to other dangers posted above.
Kevin Jacobson
Josh S
To restate the question if you happened to forget: What do you think is the biggest technological challenge the human race will face in the next 30 years?
3 key words being next 30 years. My arguments have been based off of the next 30 years, not the long term (over 30 years).
now to your single point that still applies to this question:
' before even 30 years comes along, their numbers will rise dramatically, causing thousands of refugees to flee from the ever rising shores and concentrate the population to a high degree'
i hate to give a geography lesson, but you do understand that these middle eastern countries are high above sea level, and even with population increases, which are on average 2% throughout the middle east. so in 30 years time, the population density is estimated to still be under 280 people per square mile, which is not crowded at all. Also, this 'ever rising shore line' is a grand total of 3cm, not exactly geographically devastating for the middle east.
'global economic damage, the growing population will be under stress, causing more reckless countries to solve such problems with violence and war'
What global economic damage? and please keep your response to events that can actually occur in the next 30 years, not falling back to global warming or other environmental issues.
But please keep in mind the actual question, which refers to the next 30 years.
Kevin Jacobson
Silas Birdsell
We could cut back on the amount of water we use, but as cynical as this sounds I don't think the majority of Americans are capable of doing that. We could import fresh water from countries, like Canada, who have it in abundance, but this doesn't solve the problem it is just a temporary fix. Or we could find a new way of getting fresh water, like desalinating water from the ocean. Unfortunantly desalination harms coastal ecosystems.
This is a trend that I am seeing in nearly all aspects of human growth going forwards, we are going to have to choose between development and the enviroment. The human population on Earth has very little boundaries now, Vertical farming removes the boundary of not having enough food to support the population. Water desalination makes the all of the oceans avaliable as a water source. Diseases are being cured at a rate that has never before been seen in human history. And so the biggest technological challenge the human race will face is the moral decision of whether to tame the enviroment to permit our growth or to somehow limit the growth of the human race to allow nature to remain wild.
MR T
Kanisk Chakraborty
The kids will be able to access the internet, and therefore, information, at a much younger age which could cause them to rely more on technology than their guardians. When they will need to know the meaning of something, they will simply do voice searches on google to find out the answer. The idea is a stretch, I agree. But it is very much possible for something like that to happen if things aren't moderated-something most parents don't think of with internet/gadgets/technology (unless they've had first hand experience), or simply don't know how to.
Kevin Jacobson
Kanisk Chakraborty
Having resources like KhanAcademy and the likes just a click away has been truly beneficial for my studies.
But, I have a feeling that this might turn out deleterious in the future-primarily because of the young age of the kids. Becoming independent is great, and a crucial step forward in life. However, technology might create that barrier between the parents and the kids. They will be smart, but they will become their own bosses, doing what they think is right, and what google thinks is right-which is not always correct.
Kevin Jacobson
Kanisk Chakraborty
You seem to be basing the future thinking that there will be more people like you, who are smart and grasp things much quicker than their peers. But, you must also take into consideration the fact that there will be people who are a complete polar opposite to your image of kids in the future (in most real life cases, there seems to be an abundance of people like these for reasons, unexplained). The amount of distractions the avg student faces now is 100x what was before, and the likelihood of that number going higher is inevitable. Not every person is going to be interested in what you think they might be (this is where the disconnect comes in). You'd want your son to be watching videos on quantum mechanics, but (and let's hope not), maybe they'll end up being fanatics of Justin Bieber's son, and watch youtube videos of them on "hovering" telescreens.
Thomas Bridge
Thomas Bridge
Krisztián Pintér 200+
Brian Ross
Sean Kang
At the core of every problem that we are currently facing, money is the culpirt. There are millions of gifted minds across the globe who possess the intellect to surpass many notable professors and researchers; yet those gifted individuals are not striving to make a positive difference in our world but are encouraged by our monetary system to conspire against the public. It is not because they are bad people but our monetary system encourages them to do so. People need to be given a different incentive.
The field of science has made a tremendous leap over the last hundred years but our financial systems are much the same. I mean afterall, we should be fueled by a nobler incentive rather than primitive bags of coins and wampuns right?
As forementioned, the biggest technological challenge for the human race in the next 30 years would be figuring out a new incentive system geared towards maintaining ecnomic equity.
Krisztián Pintér 200+
"people to only think about making money rather than encouraging us to actually make contributions to our world"
you get money for contributing something to the world, don't you? we all contribute 8 hours a day.
"rewarding them in a fair manner"
today we are not rewarded in a fair manner? how is it unfair? every contribution you make, sold on the market to the highest bidder. what could be more fair than that?
"gifted individuals [...] are encouraged by our monetary system to conspire against the public"
for example bill gates did not deliver a popular operating system? or owners of walmart did not deliver cheap products and good service to many millions? or ford did not make the automobile available? or rockefeller did not make petroleum affordable for the masses? how are these a "conspiracy against public"?
Sean Kang
Philanthropists like Bill Gates is a rare example. I guess he was enlightened enough to realize that we are all the same. Company executives very well know that their company can charge significantly less for their products and still reap a fair margin yet they choose not to do so. By monopolizing the market, they conspire against the public. (and if you want to talk about how competition is abundant in the market, price fixing is everywhere.. companies love playing that game) It has been like this for thousands of years. It's nothing new.
That's why we have to change our financial system. We need to evolve.
Krisztián Pintér 200+
"I find it distubring that one guy gets paid million dollars"
why? do you have any reason other than envy?
"company can charge significantly less for their products"
what determines price on a free market?
"reap a fair margin"
what is a fair margin? imagine yourself in their boots. you have a company. you sell stuff. what is a fair margin?
"monopolizing the market"
how can a company monopolize the market? don't just pull a stock answer. think about it.
"price fixing is everywhere"
what does price fixing means? how can a company fix the price of its competition? how can they fix the price of competing alternative solutions? again, don't try to ger rid of me. it is easy, but don't make you any more informed. think.
" for thousands of years"
thousands of years of price fixing? please try to imagine the economy in 1200. imagine the life of an ordinary person at that time, say, somewhere in europe. what kind of price fixing there are? what kind of companies? what kind of trade? what kind of monopolies? better don't even answer these. if i see a reply from you within two days, i will immediately know that you refused to think, and just throw random answers to get rid of the questions you don't like. these are very interesting questions if you indeed seek for answers.
Kevin Jacobson
Sean Kang
I really thought TED was about express and sharing ideas not receiving these personal vendetta like comments. It seems that as a translator, you made some great contributions to TED...I think comments like these are far too below you.
here are some tips for your future replies:
1. be polite
2. do not express personal anger towards the commentor (whether they are right or wrong..even perhaps misguided)
just stick to these simple rules and you will be fine. Maybe you are not so bitter everyday but for today...I just refuse to banter with you due to your lack of etiquette. You just can't treat people like that whether online or offline; even if you are indeed correct. Take a deep breath and dont ever post stuff like this again. You are an embarassment to anyone who is affiliated with TED.
Krisztián Pintér 200+
in fact yes. these ideas come from there.
Josh S
What a way to avoid the questions because you either found you were wrong or simply cant find the answers on other websites. He was being polite but tough, i think you need to relax and be more open minded to the possibility of you being wrong. If anyone was being rude it was you, sarcastically rebuttling Krisztian. He simply picked apart your argument in a logical manner that was easy to follow, this doesnt make it rude, but it does make it a good counter to you.
This was a interesting debate to read, dont ruin it by saying childish stuff along the lines of 'youre mean so im not gonna talk to you' when you were losing the argument. Come on now.
Ezeani Chris
Steve Bullock
The water SOURCES are a major part of the problem, especially lakes and smaller rivers. Underground acquirers have dropped and shifted. The underground rivers also contain more pollution than in the past (in some areas). These next few years are critical in man's survival. If we invest in new technologies and address the causes of climate change we may have a legitimate chance of feeling no pain. Keep doing what we are doing and we will run out of potable water. iPADs, computers, cameras, Big Screen LED TVs are meaningless if we do not have the water we need. If you want proof...look at the star levels in you local lakes and reservoirs.
WE CAN MAKE THE CHANGES NEEDED...we simply need to choose to make it happen.
Mark Garnham
Mobile devices are improving rapidly and eventually we will be able to have one gadget that does everything from being a communication device to being our bank access and TV - size and functionality are the issues with that.
In less than a month, there will be general public access to a totally new e-commerce platform available - one that is devoid of all the negative issues with typical web e-commerce sites - because it is not web based. This is a completely new platform that has been designed to be a secure global marketplace - well worth a quick look because I believe this is the sort of technology the world needs today to facilitate conventional businesses participating on the internet.
http://safeworldstv.com
Everett Johnson
I would like to propose a hypothetical question, can researchers/technologists create issues to ultimately profit from them? -I don't think so
Christian Edwards
In the link above, I talk about this question. Technology is becoming more part of our lives every single day. It is growing more rapidly than ever. We wake up and check our phones, as well as we check our phones through out the day and before going to bed. It is like we have a piece of our brain that we keep in our pocket. If we go with out this device for just a day, it is very easy to feel emotions of emptiness. However, some may find it very liberating. But as humans, we need connection to other human beings. Technology just lets us do that faster and easier than ever.
I believe that this is only going to get worse. We live alone together each day. I know we can't get rid of this device. However, I think there needs to be a device that lets us live our lives as we did before. We stay more connected than ever, yet we are not distracted from our daily lives in the real world with people. I believe the google glass project is tackling this well. However, it may hurt us more than help us. We will need to decide that soon.
https://vimeo.com/christianedwards