Here are three things I’d like to see right now that would make the world a better place – my world upgrade wishlist.
Robots for Eldercare
The first item on my world upgrade wishlist is tackling the problem of housing and care for the elderly. The cost of independent living, assisted living, memory care, and nursing home facilities are all going up exponentially. It’s hard to imagine how the average person can afford it. Long-term care insurance is prohibitively expensive and only provides a benefit for two to three years. In addition, there’s already a shortage of care workers for seniors, and it’s only going to get worse.
What if, instead of moving to independent or assisted living, we brought care into our homes on our terms. Robots can provide the assistance we need in most cases. The computers in Tesla cars and smartphones already have enough intelligence to help with our basic daily needs. All they require is a body with arms and legs – and that technology already exists.
I can imagine Medicare providing everyone on their seventy-fifth birthday with a helpful, kind, easygoing, indefatigable companion robot, enabling us to stay in our homes indefinitely. The government will save a fortune, and so will we. Not only that, we won’t have to worry about the quality of care we may receive in an institution. Robots are selfless and can be programmed to meet every possible personality quirk of humans.
Anonymous hackers policing rogue countries
The second item on my world upgrade wishlist is for a universal, altruistic, anonymous hacker organization that has the technological power to shut down the unlawful, immoral action of nation-states and terror organizations.
I got this idea from a story this past week where Anonymous, an international group of hacker-activists, said they would sabotage Russia’s efforts to invade Ukraine. For this to work, we’d need the hackers to be non-partisan, basing their actions on justice and fairness. They would have to make decisions behind a “veil of ignorance,” as expounded by John Rawls in his book, “A Theory of Justice.” If such a thought experiment were possible in reality, it would be the great equalizer.
It’s incredibly frustrating that the world has its hands tied behind its back, unable to help Ukraine fend off an unjust and unprovoked invasion because intervening might trigger World War III. When Serbia invaded Kosovo, the US under President Clinton sent in bombers to expel the Serbs. It was the right thing to do. We should be supporting Ukraine now, but it’s too dangerous because Russia has nuclear weapons. While this wish on my list is a pipe dream, it’s still nice to imagine.
Say Goodbye to Credit Cards and Bank Fees
The final item on my world upgrade list involves getting rid of credit cards and their fees. I’d love to pay for goods and services using a digital financial account with no bank involvement. But unfortunately, every time I swipe my credit card, a bank tracks my transaction. In addition, that same bank increases the cost of my purchase by charging the seller exorbitant merchant service fees of anywhere from three to five percent, just for transferring funds.
Using blockchain technology, we could seamlessly transfer our money into a vendor’s account – directly, free of charge, and free of scrutiny. In addition, the blockchain would forever document the transaction, giving us a permanent, private and secure record of the transaction.
If my patients could pay me with digital currency without involving banks and their credit card processing fees, it would remove one of my most significant business expenses. I could then pass those savings on to my patients. We shouldn’t have to pay for the right to transact money. Credit cards are convenient, but the fees associated with those transactions have become way too high. The blockchain can fix this problem – once we can guarantee that it is safe, dependable, and secure.
Your World Upgrade Wishlist
Please email me your ideas for making the world a better place. Use the Contact Us button on the right side of this page. I’ll collect them and make another post with your responses.
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