The optimism of Silicon Valley is normally as glaring as the Californian sunshine. But, on a visit this year, I was struck by a far gloomier refrain from one tech billionaire: the risk of “divergent humanity”.
Anyone whose beach reading this summer has included Factfulness by Hans Rosling (so enthusiastically endorsed by Bill Gates) will be convinced that humanity has been converging over the past few decades. The developing world has been catching up with the developed world so fast that it is senseless to keep using such binary terms, according to Rosling. On most measures, humanity is converging towards longer, healthier, safer and more prosperous lives.
Alongside better governance, technology has played a starring role in this “secret silent miracle of human progress”. Inventions as varied as electricity, antibiotic drugs, washing machines, the shipping container and the internet have all contributed to this great convergence. We should listen to the sweet reason of the late Swedish writer, ignore most media headlines shrieking about disaster, and focus on the underlying data. The trend has been our friend.