As the year draws to a close, we find ourselves standing at a pivotal crossroads where our choices will define the trajectory of human civilisation. One path leads us to the utopia envisioned in Star Trek, where technology uplifts humanity, cures disease, eradicates poverty, and expands the bounds of human potential. The other veers toward the dystopian chaos of Mad Max, where unchecked technological misuse plunges us into a fractured, hostile world. The advances of the past year — in Artificial Intelligence (AI), genetic engineering, robotics, warfare drones, and quantum computing — have brought these two futures within arm’s reach. What we do next will determine which one we realise.
In my book, The Driver in the Driverless Car, I said that we face three fundamental questions about every new technology: Does it have the potential to benefit everyone equally? What are the risks and rewards? And does it promote autonomy or diminish it? These questions are not merely academic; the answers to them will shape the future we build and define the legacy we leave for generations to come.
AI is already reshaping industries and our daily lives. Imagine AI-driven doctors diagnosing diseases with pinpoint accuracy, AI tutors providing personalised education to every child, and AI algorithms optimising global food production to end hunger. Generative AI tools are enhancing creativity and accelerating breakthroughs in fields ranging from medicine to architecture. In genetic engineering, CRISPR and similar technologies are rewriting the code of life. Scientists are on the brink of eradicating inherited diseases, extending the human lifespan, and even reversing ageing. This year’s breakthroughs hint at a future where cancer is no longer a death sentence and preventive, personalised medicine is accessible to all.
Robotics has taken massive strides. Robots now assist in surgery, build homes, and farm fields. In the coming years, they could transform disaster response, make recovery faster and safer, and democratise access to essential services for billions of underserved people. Quantum computing, meanwhile, promises to redefine the limits of what is computationally possible. Quantum machines could solve problems in minutes that would take classical computers millennia. These breakthroughs could supercharge drug discovery, optimise global logistics, and model climate solutions with unprecedented accuracy. If used responsibly, quantum computing could be humanity’s ultimate tool to solve our most intractable problems.
Yet, the same technologies that hold such promise also carry grave risks. AI has already been weaponised to spread disinformation, manipulate elections, and automate warfare. Warfare drones, cheap and deadly, are proliferating in conflict zones, where they kill with ruthless efficiency. In genetic engineering, the tools that can cure disease could also create bioweapons or introduce irreversible changes to the human genome. The Covid-19 pandemic, with its origins tied to Chinese genetic manipulation, stands as a stark example of how these technologies can be misused to catastrophic effect. Robots that enhance productivity could become autonomous killing machines or displace workers en masse, exacerbating inequality and fuelling societal unrest. Quantum computing, while groundbreaking, could render current encryption obsolete, exposing critical infrastructure and personal data to unprecedented security threats.
These risks underscore the importance of applying the three questions from The Driver in the Driverless Car. If a technology primarily benefits the few at the expense of the many, poses risks that outweigh rewards, or diminishes human autonomy, we are veering dangerously toward a dystopian future.
We must urgently decide how to harness these technologies for good while mitigating their dangers. Governments must work with technologists to establish ethical frameworks that prevent misuse. Autonomous weapons should be banned outright, while genetic engineering must be carefully regulated to balance innovation with ethical considerations. The inevitable disruption of AI and robotics necessitates a massive investment in education and reskilling, preparing people not for the jobs of yesterday but for the opportunities of tomorrow.
Technologies must not exacerbate inequality. With Vionix Biosciences, instead of catering to the wealthy in the West, I chose to bring these technologies to India, starting with the poor to ensure advanced diagnostic tools reach those who need them most. When the rich have access to vastly better health care and technology while the poor are left behind, we risk creating a world like Elysium, where the wealthy live in luxury and safety while the poor are left to struggle in deprivation — a division so stark it sparks rebellion and upheaval.
The future is not written in stone; it will be determined by our collective actions. Do we use AI to uplift or to oppress? Do we engineer life to heal or to harm? Do we deploy robots to empower or to exploit? These are the questions we must answer with urgency and foresight. If we apply the three guiding questions — ensuring equality, managing risks, and enhancing autonomy — we can navigate toward a future where technology is a force for good. The coming decade could be one of unprecedented progress for humanity, where disease is a distant memory, education is universal, and technology enables us to explore the stars and our deepest potential.
As we step into the new year, let us resolve to be architects of a Star Trek future. Let us steer our technologies toward creating a more just, equitable, and thriving world. The choice is ours, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Vivek Wadhwa is CEO, Vionix Biosciences.The views expressed are personal
