Exponential Growth of Technology
Sunday, October 4, 2009 by Simon
I have just finished reading the new Dan Drown book "The Lost Symbol" and while doing this weeks reading, something from it jumped back into my mind. It was the bit about the exponential growth of education and technology. Basically this is the idea that we (mankind) have learnt more in the last 5 years than in the 50 years before that because every new technological breakthrough opens many more new areas to explore.
What this made me realise is that the exponential growth of technology is effectively widening the gap between the 1st and 3rd worlds. While America, Europe and Asia are studying sub atomic particles and molecular biology, people in Africa are still using primitive agricultural techniques. Apart from the obvious ethical dilemmas surrounding the question of whether this is morally right another interesting question is how can we effectively share technology?
In my opinion it is the responsibility of the 1st world to help the third world catch up but it must be done in the correct manner. You cannot hand out cheap laptops to malnourished children and reply to their puzzled expressions that it will all pay off in a couple of generations. If the exponential growth model is true then in two generations 1st world technology may well have outgrown the computer leaving us in much the same position. Any process must be undertaken very carefully with the needs of the 3rd world population kept firmly in mind. Possibly the best way to introduce new technology is by doing so in areas where the benefits can easily be seen like agriculture or water treatment. This would increase the uptake of knowledge and perhaps lay the foundations for more complex technology to be shared. In theory the exponential growth of technology in the third world will be far greater than that of the 1st world as it revolves around sharing and not discovering meaning that if done properly there is no reason why the gap between the two worlds should stay in the same state it is already in.
What this made me realise is that the exponential growth of technology is effectively widening the gap between the 1st and 3rd worlds. While America, Europe and Asia are studying sub atomic particles and molecular biology, people in Africa are still using primitive agricultural techniques. Apart from the obvious ethical dilemmas surrounding the question of whether this is morally right another interesting question is how can we effectively share technology?
In my opinion it is the responsibility of the 1st world to help the third world catch up but it must be done in the correct manner. You cannot hand out cheap laptops to malnourished children and reply to their puzzled expressions that it will all pay off in a couple of generations. If the exponential growth model is true then in two generations 1st world technology may well have outgrown the computer leaving us in much the same position. Any process must be undertaken very carefully with the needs of the 3rd world population kept firmly in mind. Possibly the best way to introduce new technology is by doing so in areas where the benefits can easily be seen like agriculture or water treatment. This would increase the uptake of knowledge and perhaps lay the foundations for more complex technology to be shared. In theory the exponential growth of technology in the third world will be far greater than that of the 1st world as it revolves around sharing and not discovering meaning that if done properly there is no reason why the gap between the two worlds should stay in the same state it is already in.