Over the past two or so decades, the world has witnessed scientific and technological advancement of such unrivalled and influential order for the common mass as had never happened in the history of mankind. Life and living in general have irreversibly changed courtesy of the information and communication technology. Even the barely literate and the illiterate today know how to use cell phone for distance communication and receiving some very useful information for agriculture or prices of farm produce or handicraft and small-factory products in city markets or in markets abroad. Regular communication with migrant sons and daughters in the Middle East or elsewhere is no longer a pipe dream.
Essentially, mass access to modern gadgets has never happened like this before. In that sense science and technology have for the first time largely knocked down the class barrier towards a kind of socialism. At no point of history did the spectacular inventions prove so practical and accessible to people irrespective of their social standings.
Of course, the class divide remains so far as the use of the smart technology is concerned. Sure enough, well educated people usually of the older generation may as well be gizmos-illiterate. But still the way the cell phone or smartphone brings the world to the quiet corner of a village is amazing.
Even such developments may pale before ground-breaking artificial intelligence (AI). How it will evolve in the next few years may decide the course of humanity in a vastly different set of equations between fellow human beings and man and machine. That robots, thanks to AI, can take order for foods and serve those on the table in restaurant is no longer news. The news is that robots are performing as caregivers and companions for lonely and aged Japanese people. ChatGPT opens up a vista that is at once thrilling and frightening. Thrilling, because man may discover a workhorse that is as intelligent --- most of the times even more ---as himself in performing tasks perfectly and efficiently. Frightening, because the creation looks like superseding the creator, making the apprehension of piecing together the Frankenstein a reality.
When such incredible achievements are credited to human ingenuity and the changes foreseen can go either way ---for better or worse, how does the planet that hosts the living creation fare? Even the most advanced scientific and technological developments will prove useless if this planet becomes sick and uninhabitable. Ironically, no animal other than the number one in the ranking of intelligence and rationality ---man that is---is responsible for causing any perceptible damage to its environment. Even the largest species of pachyderms do not wreak any havoc with vegetation or forests; rather they help regeneration of Nature.
The human race has spoiled, destroyed and killed not only the natural resources, other animals and even its own kind along with devastating rivals' or enemies' living quarters built over years and decades. In fact, greater progress has been made on the weaponry front with fire powers enough to annihilate the entire race many times over. The World War I and II have come up with representative pictures of the cataclysm waiting to unfold in case anything like the World War III breaks out.
A global armed conflict apart, the human species has done its host the greatest disservice by burning fossil fuel so much so that the planet is heating up like a cauldron. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has already raised a red flag, warning that the future of the mankind will be in jeopardy if remedial measures are not taken soon. "Greenhouse gas levels are record high. Global temperatures are record high. Sea level rise is record high. Antarctica sea ice record low", reveals the WMO. The global warming of 1.4 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial level this year is still a little lower than the ceiling of 1.5 degree Celsius for avoiding catastrophic climate change, but unless the pattern changes or gets reversed, people's survival will be at stake.
Already there have been unusual and unprecedented heat waves, storms and cyclones, floods due to melting of polar ice and glaciers and forest fires across the globe. Surprisingly, with all the impressive and phenomenal advancements in science and technology, humanity is still at the mercy of Nature. Against the rising temperature of the planet, no scientific invention or technology has so far been there to counter its rampage. The only answer so far scientists have come up with is that the release of CO2 or greenhouse gas has to be reduced or even done away with. A tall order no doubt. But by finding renewable replacement for fossil fuels, this objective can largely be achieved. The focus is now on green energy that does not pollute the environment.
So efforts are on to increase the use of renewable energy. The European Union, the US and the United Arab Emirates have opted for increasing the use of renewable energy three fold by 2030. Their advanced stage of development and financial resources may help them achieve the target but what about the rest, particularly the two giants ---China and India still reluctant to shift to renewal energy options? The less advanced poor countries, although not large-scale polluters, will find themselves at a disadvantage to make such a shift possible.
In fine, smart technologies and AI will not save the mankind if it fails to resurrect the planet from the turmoil it is in and heading for still greater turbulence and disorder.
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