The Struggle for a Human Future

With its wireless networks encompassing the globe, the Digital Revolution is altering the very fabric of our lives with alarming rapidity. New technologies are bringing about an ever-closer union between human beings and machines, whilst at the same time transforming our planet into an increasingly hybrid "cyber-physical" world. The current rollout of fifth-generation wireless communication networks--5G--is central to the project to create a global "electronic ecosystem" in which we will all have to live. This will provide the basis for an all-pervasive "Internet of Things" and the widespread integration of augmented and virtual reality into human experience. But what genuine human needs will this serve? Does the planet really need to be made "smart"? Could our health and that of other living creatures actually remain unaffected by exposure to escalating levels of electromagnetic radiation? As we enter a new era of extreme technology--driven by a momentum that seems beyond the constraint of any spiritual or moral consideration--both human beings and nature face an unprecedented challenge. Jeremy Naydler states that this is a challenge that can be met only by reaffirming essential human values and recovering a sacred view of the natural world. From this grounding, we can work toward a truly human future that, rather than creating even more pollution and toxicity, will bring blessing to the natural world to which we belong.