Futurologist looks to technology to deliver better quality of life

World renowned author and 'futurologist' Dr James Martin invoked the words of Victorian novelist Charles Dickens this week, as he cautioned that the phrase "the best of times, and the worst of times" applies aptly to the 21st century.

Although "massive problems" - from climate change to terrorism - are on the world's doorstep, Dr Martin excitedly told an audience at the 13th annual Commonwealth Lecture on 28 April 2010, that "there are also massive opportunities" for dealing with, and overcoming these challenges.

He argued that they will be met by "connecting the dots and looking at the big issues" that will unfold over the course of this century.

'Spectrum of possibilities'

If there is one addition Dr Martin would make to Dickens' quote when used as a description of the 21st century, he said it would be to add that both the best and worst of times "will be felt in their extremes".

He stressed this point through a series of bleak facts, which highlight the damage being inflicted on the planet. "Each year, humankind creates 15 million acres of new desert, loses 44 million acres of forest, and destroys vast numbers of fish," said the founder of the James Martin 21st Century School at the University of Oxford.

He then presented the audience gathered at The Royal Institution of Great Britain in London with a "spectrum of possibilities" on the possible worst times to come.

It is "virtually certain", he claimed, that the Earth's population will grow to nine billion. It is also "virtually certain" that the Earth's temperature will rise by two degrees centigrade.

Taking into account these predictions, Dr Martin said that if a two degree rise does occur - which estimates suggest may happen by 2045 - then the earth will only be able to support seven billion inhabitants, nowhere near the nine billion some predict will live on the planet at that time. This, he argues, "would mean a famine on a scale never imagined before".

Embracing technology

After going through various nightmare scenarios from terrorism to energy shortages, Dr Martin turned to the "massive opportunities" which could be seized by "looking at the big picture" on many different issues.

This idea of interdisciplinary research is the focus of the James Martin 21st Century School, which Dr Martin established in 2005 at the University of Oxford. The school's teams of researchers focus on a broad range of topics from health to energy, the environment and climate change, and social and political transformation.

In addressing many of these "very different issues", Dr Martin predicts that technology will play a fundamental role.

The key question, he insists, is "how do we use this technology to make a much better quality of life?"

One-stop shop

A major role for the Commonwealth, he said, would be to embrace technology and create "the best quality web teaching on critical science".

This idea was welcomed by Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, who explained that the Commonwealth is exploring using technology "to serve as an awareness function for all people of the Commonwealth".

At present the Commonwealth is working on a one-stop shop for the web, known as CP3, or the Partnership Platform Portal, which can be accessed by anyone across the world. This information aims to plug the gap in knowledge that is unavailable in one place on a number of important topics.

This Commonwealth Lecture is "the latest in a series of visionary and iconic speakers," said Mark Collins, Director of the Commonwealth Foundation, which organised the event, with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Royal Over-seas League, the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Previous speakers at the Lecture include Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General, Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, and Terry Waite, former special envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury.