Future of Humanity

Zhouying Jin is a senior researcher and professor at the Institute of Quantitative-Economics and Technical-Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), as well as director of the Centre for Technology Innovation and Strategy Studies (CTISS), also of CASS. She is chairman and founder of the Beijing Academy of Soft Technology.

'The Future of Humanity is a thought-provoking work that takes a long view of the trajectory of our technological development, identifies the significant risks and ethical dilemmas that it entails and tries to answer the central question of what kind of future we should aspire to as humanity. It is a profound piece of work, reflecting a deep understanding of technology and society, as also the philosophical traditions of both the West and the East to weave an inspiring vision for the future of humanity. The author is an accomplished futurist with long years of experience as a distinguished tech policy expert. In her analysis, she distinguishes between “soft technology” comprising, for example, societal norms and structures as opposed to “hard technology” concerning material solutions based on science. It is “soft technology” which ultimately determines the impact of “hard technology” on society, and therefore deserves serious attention. The author paints a vivid picture of what might be the successor of our current industrial civilization. She calls it the “Global Civilization”. She then goes on to define its next and more evolved version, which she terms as the “Great Civilization”. While considering technology and society, we are often constrained by our current circumstances as we think of the future. As a result, we usually end up thinking incrementally. The Future of Humanity provokes us to think more expansively on a bigger canvas. It is an extremely valuable contribution in helping us frame our thinking of the type of society we should collectively design if what we cherish as humans is to survive and thrive in the future".'

• PrefaceTheodore Jay GordonPrefaceGuangbi DongCommentLane JenningsAcknowledgements Introduction: Where Are Human Beings Headed? About human evolutionWhat is technology?On the future of civilizationThe sustainable development of human beingsUnderstanding ChinaChapter 1: Deep Concern over the Direction of Technology DevelopmentThe technological revolution now unfoldingThe syndrome of technology worshipAnxiety disorder due to technologyConcerns over the direction of human evolutionChapter 2: What is Technology? Technology in the broad senseSoft technology has been ignored for a long timeThe significance of understanding soft technologyWhat determines the direction of technological innovation?Chapter 3: The Crisis in Human Civilization Driven by the Theory of Scientific and Technological OmnipotenceThe imminent disaster facing science and technologyThe crisis of human civilizationThe integration of hard and soft technologies in the field of human life and its risksHuman progress as the ability to control their own destinyChapter 4: What Kind of Civilization Should Human Beings Pursue? Exploring the future evolution of humanity from social-humanity perspectivesWhat kind of civilization should human beings pursue after industrial civilization?The global civilization – the cultural foundation for jointly building future human happinessChapter 5: Future Civilization and Sustainable Human Development Redefining sustainable developmentHuman sustainability depends on what civilization we chooseRealizing sustainable development by adopting a systemic solution (the example of China)Chapter 6: The Difficult Task of Creating a ‘Global Civilization’The transformation of civilization has a long way to goThe development mode of each country can and should be unique basic principlesBeyond Global Civilization – the most worthy goal for human beingsProspect of the Great CivilizationChapter 7: Can Humans Eventually Create a Great Civilization?Education and the power of persuasionHuman beings can and should agree on common valuesIdeal human societies have certain characteristics in commonHuman beings have never stopped striving to realize the ideal societyChapter 8: Global Civilization and China’s RejuvenationPromoting green and innovative production activities (the transformation of economic development)Protecting and Recycling Natural Resources and Economizing to Attain Reasonable Development (transforming the resource application model)Repairing, restoring, and protecting the environment (transforming the ecological protection model)Promoting social progress, building a harmonious society (transforming the social development model)Population trial (transforming the population development model)Striving to build an innovative country (from imitative innovation to independent innovation)Institutional experiment (implementing a socialist system with Chinese characteristics)China 2050: A splendid future lies ahead, but dangers still existChapter 9: The Responsibility of Our Generation Reaching consensus is keyChanging how we think is the precondition for achieving consensus educationA better future cannot be predicted, but it can be created tolerance and visionary thinkingBe bold to take responsibilityTransmitting the goal of realising the Great Civilisation to the next generation