The World in 2030

The wealth of the developed world has been generated
largely by the invention and application of increasingly
sophisticated technology. It is for this reason that I cover this
subject first; technology development will have a significant
impact on all of the other subjects discussed in this report.
In a paper called ‘Technological Revolutions: Ethics
and Policy In The Dark’, Dr Nick Bostrom 90 , Director of
the Future of Humanity Institute, the Faculty of Philosophy
at Oxford University, makes clear technology’s role in our
modern society:
Technological change is in large part responsible for
the evolution of such basic parameters of the human
condition as the size of the world population, life
expectancy, education levels, material standards of
living, the nature of work, communication, health
care, war, and the effects of human activities on the
natural environment. Other aspects of society and
our individual lives are also influenced by technology
in many direct and indirect ways, including
governance, entertainment, human relationships,
and our views on morality, cosmology, and human
nature. One does not have to embrace any strong
form of technological determinism or be a historical