A reflection on hope
While trapped under rubble, there are many things that victims think. Fortunately I cannot know because I have never been in that position. But reports on real cases show us human nature shines in the worst situations and gives us hope to keep fighting to survive. In this fight, we have some allies; and as experience shows us, in recent years, we rely on our smartphones to seek for help.
The same devices that are sometimes regarded as harmful because some app designers use addictive design patterns, the toxicity of social media, and practices against privacy; become our lifeline to rescue workers and our loved ones.
And this sum of small yet infinitely important stories of hope and survival should make us look at technology as a bringer of a grand history of progress, of hope in the future of humanity. Technology is having a net positive impact in society, despite all the (fair) criticism on the negatives.
Technological progress is the sum of our little projects, our own little stories of hope for success. Behind all this noise about technology, all these news, good and bad, are humans creating, humans building something new, hoping to improve our chances of survival, both as individuals and as a species.
I am but one engineer, and I come with my own idea, my own little story of hope. I hope that this project succeeds. I hope it contributes to technological progress. And I hope that it sums to that net positive impact in the life of my fellow humans in the future.
So here is to hope!