Science and technology will one day be able to solve all of society s problems

Humans have spent years conjuring up visions of an improved society in which new developments by researchers can end world hunger or eradicate the world's most painful diseases. However, society's problems go beyond physical ailments, including moral dilemmas such as discrimination and economic inequality. Science and technology, while helpful in many respects, cannot be expected to solve all of society's problems, many of which are far too complex to be cured by mere technological innovation.

One of the primary sources of unrest in human society is difference of opinion. The current education system emphasizes on developing one's opinion and becoming a person with strong views. As such, many people have differing perspectives on various topics, often resulting in public debate and strife—a trend that has only continued as research and new information increase human diversity of thought. In the United States, while scientists internationally have dedicated decades of research to the topic of climate change, many continue to refute the validity of these studies. It may be intuitive to conclude that an increased proliferation of scientific evidence should be enough to bring together divergent groups, but this is often not the case in real life. Additionally, many debates do not rest on empirical evidence or objective facts: technology may not be able to answer spiritual or philosophical questions that have plagued humans for millennia.

Furthermore, one of the canonical issues in science fiction movies and novels alike is the ability for new technology to maintain a human conscience or moral standard. Artificial intelligence and machine learning draw from human knowledge and principles to build databases of knowledge, but often are thought to lack a fundamental understanding of equality or justness. This may necessitate human interference, requiring supervisors to run and oversee technology, which may not solve any of society's problems. For example, scientists and doctors can build complex medical models can be built to cure any disease, but the hospital's supervisors will still be concerned about hospital's finances–what good is the world's most cutting-edge medical technology if it can only be used on the few who can afford it?

Throughout history, we can also see that as science and technology have progressed, so too has inequality. We can even go so far as to claim that hunter-gatherers from hundreds of thousands of years ago lived more "equal" lives than people today–longevity was due more to luck or mere hunting ability, and there wasn't widespread concern about the "top 1%" having more than everyone else. Economists nowadays continue to build and develop different economic models that can find a better solution to maximizing growth without compromising wealth inequality, while politicans and policymakers mirror this search in governments around the world. In fact, while we see new developments in Silicon Valley that have led to the rise of billion-dollar startups that claim to make lives easier, mere blocks away in the Bay Area are families that live below the poverty line and are displaced as the result of gentrification.

Though technology cannot solve the world's most complex issues, it is worth noting that it can go a long way in raising the fundamental floor for quality of life: not just for humans, but the Earth at large. New developments can ensure that all people have access to clean water and basic education, that humans can produce and consume in a more environmentally-friendly manner, and cultivate new means of enriching culture and art. These possibilities, however far from solving all of society's problems, are nevertheless significant and offer benefits that humans could never have realized without technology.

Ultimately, while one can dream of a world in which benevolent mechanical programs and robots create the ultimate utopia, many of society's problems are ingrained into the human spirit, unable to be resolved by anything so simple as better technology.