The Editor, Sir:

To understand the current developments in technology, one has to understand the progress of science. The ultimate goal of science has always been to understand nature firstly and then to make it our useful servant. Since the days of the alchemist who tried to transmute common metals into gold, we have sought to change nature to suit our own ends.

The developments in science and technology were driven by the imperatives of the economic structure of societies, but at its foundation lay a philosophical position that we could dominate the physical world.

This remained a dream (which some would consider hubris) for many centuries, until the imperatives of capitalist development in the 19th century spurred unprecedented scientific discoveries and gave birth to figures such as Charles Darwin and early in the next century, Albert Einstein. Through the developments in advanced mathematics we began to understand the stuff that made up the universe, the atom. We began to explore the microscopic through quantum mechanics and the macroscopic though cosmology, and united them in string theory.

Mastery of nature

The developments in physics have put us in a position where we are on the threshold of the mastery of nature. But you may ask, "If this is so, why are we unable to solve some very basic problems that we have in our societies?" This has to do with social relationships and structures which exacerbate imbalances rather than lead to the solution, and which hinder the further development of productive forces. Notwithstanding the role of human agency in history, the productive forces will have the final say, as we can only create what is materially possible based on the level of technology.

Nanotechnology, that is technology that operates at the microscopic level, will possibly realise the alchemist dreams of changing the molecular structure of chemicals and create a new form of production, manufacturing products at the molecular level. This has been forecast by some scientists to result in the abundant production of goods using nano-fabricators at very low cost compared to today's production methods. Genetic engineering will give us the ability to modify the genetic structure of plants and animals, creating agricultural abundance without the need for pesticides, and possibly, healthier, more intelligent people.

Solving the riddle

All these possibilities will be made reality through the ever increasing power of information technologies, since all of nature can now be reduced to its mathematical formulation. Greater than human intelligence in the form of computer-based artificial intelligence, it is said, will be able to combine centuries of learning and the capacity of many minds into one system that can solve the mathematical equations of nature.

Once we discovered the atom and the DNA, we could begin the process of solving their mathematical riddle and manipulating the equations. The mathematical formulation of nature once understood, can be improved upon to make it what we want it to be. There is no mind behind nature except the one that man can now be which is the logical consequence of the emergence of intelligence in our evolution.

This optimism has to be tempered with the risk that destructive outcomes are also possible. We can ensure that technology is used for the good of society by creating and strengthening institutions in which all the stakeholders are involved and holding elected officials accountable.

An educated society that understands these technological changes that are on the horizon, and who are part of the process of technological development, can better ensure that the outcomes are positive. So we must strive for greater scientific education, and further the development of scientific culture.

I am, etc.,

OMAR CHEDDA

omar_chedda@hotmail.com