2008 State of the Future report proposes 15 global challenges

July 14, 2008 | Source: KurzweilAI

The future continues to get better for most of the world, but a series of tipping points could drastically alter global prospects, according to the 2008 State of the Future, a report due to be published late this month, and obtained by KurzweilAI.net Sunday.

Half the world is vulnerable to social instability and violence due to rising food and energy prices, failing states, falling water tables, climate change, decreasing water-food-energy supply per person, desertification, and increasing migrations due to political, environmental, and economic conditions, says this report published by the Millennium Project, a global participatory futures research think tank affiliated with the World Federation of UN Associations.

However, it notes that “Ours is the first generation with the means for many to know the world as a whole, identify global improvement systems, and seek to improve such systems. We are the first people to act via Internet with like-minded individuals around the world. We have the ability to connect the right ideas to resources and people to help address our global and local challenges.”

The report is a “global overview of our technological, environmental, social, economic future prospects, strategies to address them — what the educated person should know about the world and what to do to improve it,” co-author and Millennium Project Director Jerome C. Glenn told KurzweilAI.net.

The report identifies 15 global challenges, ranging from “How can everyone have sufficient clean water without conflict?” and “How can the global convergence of information and communications technologies work for everyone?” to “How can scientific and technological breakthroughs be
accelerated to improve the human condition?”

The 2008 State of the Future (paper and CD ROM with about 6,300 pages of research) will be available for $49.95 later this month. It is the 12th annual report of the Millennium Project.

Also see:

We’ve seen the future … and we may not be doomed