by Marcus Barber
Introduction
Using a pessimism/optimism scale for assessing the future poses a challenge when considering the future of the species homo sapiens sapien (the one who knows they know). In being asked to make a selection of probability of any of the four scenarios we must, be default, assign the same outcome for one as to everyone. I find this approach workable though problematic for even within dystopic or utopic future scenarios, there can typically be found people who might be defined as ‘winners’ (people positively impacted) or ‘losers’ (people negatively impacted). By design I’m an optimist, often able to identify the good and beneficial in most situations, a believer that the average person is inherently ‘good’, a social animal understanding implicitly that co-operation is the best path forward. It is difficult not to be excited by the potential seen in the great leap forward, a world in which technology has freed many, where shared values come to the fore and the world becomes an inherently better place for all.(continue…)