My statement in 2005 on "Technology and the Future of Humankind", just rediscovered - can't recollect if it was published anywhere!

TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE OF HUMANKIND

Ever since the sixteenth century, when the Protestant Reformers sowed, for the first time in history, the seeds of education, political freedom, science, technology and economic progress, these seeds have sprouted and their flowers have spread far and wide, increasingly bringing blessings everywhere around the globe. Officially, we may be Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Confucian, Atheist, and so on, but in practice we are all culturally Protestant now, since we are committed to education, political freedom and all the other cultural fruits of the Reformation.

However, the Darwinist Revolution (which started in the 1860s, became powerful in Europe from the 1880s onwards, and in the USA from the 1930s onwards) has also spread worldwide, resulting in the spread of purposelessness, anomie, individualism, social fragmentation, sensationalism, overwork, over-exploitation of natural resources, and the maximisation of profits for the few who own productive assets worldwide.

The reason that Darwinism became (and remains) popular have nothing to do with science, and everything to do with humankind's desire to evade accountability.

We would rather like to be free to live our own lives, make our own decisions and go our own way without having to consider the consequences for ourselves, for others, for humanity, and for nature.

With the rise of the latest technologies (now known by the macabre acronmy GRIN - Genetics, Robotics, Information and Nanotech), the necessity and identity of humankind is at stake. These technologies form as potent a threat to the future of humankind as nuclear bombs did in the Sixties.

My vision is that we will together be able to find the right ways to harness these technologies, so that they are instruments for good rather than means of evil. But that will only happen if we are willing to look into our own hearts to locate the sources of greed, lust, fear, the hunger for power, and other such negative emotions - and then if we are willing to look clear-headedly at the institutions we have created which embody these negative emotions and amplify their effect - institutions such as the limited company, fiat money, and usury.

Naturally, we also need to find the solution to these negative emotions, and the motivation to work for the continued reformation of institutions and society. As a Hindu, I have found both the solution and the motivation in my relationship with Jesus of Nazareth, the Guru and the Lord, who forgives me, cleans me, energises me and guides me.

Regardless of beliefs (or lack of them), I welcome everyone who wishes to join in the journey to the core of the heart, which is also a quest for the fulfilment of the vision of a humane future.

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