Even with Biden and Harris in the White House, we need a reset on how we think about the future.
A wave of hope swept across the country as news agencies declared former vice president Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election on Saturday. As the incoming administration sets about trying to build a better future, it faces a monumental task. Despite their monumental victory, president-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris have their work cut out to ensure the future is as vibrant, just and sustainable as possible.
It is hard to simply “science” our way out of complex challenges like coronaviruses, which have killed thousands of people each day. As we stand on the edge of tomorrow, the cracks at our feet are as much a product of our social, political and technological behaviors as they are our science. The past four years have brought us closer than ever to the edge of a future that is in danger of crumbling beneath our feet; not just through the lying, the conspiracy theories and the blatant disregard for evidence, reason and basic human rights, but through a confluence of factors that are threatening to
We are losing our ability to make smart choices between what we can do and what we should because we are wrapped up in our capacity to innovate. It seems that we are more and more ignoring the evidence in front of us and marginalizing those who don’t look like us on a grand scale. It is becoming harder to work together to build a better future when people who don’t share our beliefs.
We are rethinking our relationship with the future. Tensions between our collective ability to influence and change the future and our ability to do this effectively are what these are. We will only be able to address the tensions through re-examining our relationship with the future and our responsibility to it.
Climate change is a stark reminder of our technological recklessness. Millions of people face injustice every day because of ill-considered political decisions, poorly thought-through good intentions, or even technologies that threaten what is of value to them in the name of progress. I work to understand the relationship between past and future by cutting across multiple areas of expertise. It is hard to make sure that social, technological and political advances don’t cause more harm than good.
We need to better understand our relationship with the future, and our individual and collective roles in ensuring that what comes next is better than the past, because of this. While we can recode DNA, design new materials atom by atom, and create machines that may one day surpass human intelligence, we are still remarkably good at preventing people from reaching their futures.
It is possible to escape the confines of conventional thinking. This will not be easy. We can learn how to become better architects of the future if we better understand how the intertwined threads that define who we are come together.
The very complexity of how these threads surround, intersect with and influence one another creates vulnerabilities that are impossible to see through the lens of conventional thinking. Our imagination, understanding, and inventiveness are reflected in these threads. Our ability to see and feel the world through the eyes of others is also encapsulated by them.
We need to care for others and think in a way that is humility and care at the same time. To navigate this landscape, we need to be bold enough to walk away from conventional ways of understanding the world. Learning how to be informed by disciplines without being bound by them will be part of this. As we open ourselves to new ideas and opportunities, it will mean embracing creativity, playfulness and serendipity.
There is a path forward. By avoiding the pitfalls of the past, we can see ways to build a vibrant and just future that is full of promise.
Cleaning up the chaos of the past four years, finding a pathway to a post-coronaviruses future, and placing the US on an economically and environmentally sustainable footing are all critically important short-term goals. pressing the reset button on how we think about the future and our relationship with it will not be possible. This is one of the biggest challenges the Biden/Harris team will face when they enter the White House.
There is every chance that we will have new opportunities to work together toward a future that is more just, more vibrant, and more sustainable for everyone, not just a privileged few.