How Tech is Making the World a Better Place

Social

Poverty: The accessibility of online markets and digital services has lowered barriers to creating a business, hence empowering many. Nevertheless, inequality remains a global problem. At the almost-literal grassroots level, Digital Green helps smallholder farmers to work together and to share their knowledge to improve their lives. More broadly, MOOCs and other online information sources provide much of the benefit, and training, that students would get from studying at the best universities in the world – if not a degree.

Politics: In the modern era, social media has fuelled an age of protest, targeting corruption and wrongdoing. Equally, services like TheyWorkForYou provide transparency into the political process and on precisely what our elected representatives are doing. Meanwhile, UReport provides a global platform, allowing individuals to speak up on issues that are important to them and their communities.

Sexual harassment: Digital platforms have been host to new conversations about sexual inequality and abuse – after all, MeToo and TimesUp couldn’t have happened without social media. HarassMap goes a step further by allowing individuals to tag cases of sexual harassment on a map.

Environmental

One of the greatest environmental challenges we face is the fact that plastic cannot be turned back into oil. This may soon all be over, thanks to Adrian Griffiths of Recycling Technologies. He has developed a process to turn plastic waste into Plaxx – a substance that can be used as fuel or turned back into plastic.

Ocean clean-up: We’re increasingly aware of the vast amount of waste in our oceans and the terrible effect that it has on aquatic life. Something that may combat this is Seabin, an invention that works much like a fish tank’s water filtration system and sucks in oil and rubbish. It’s a big task, but if widely deployed, Seabin could soon begin to make a difference.

Pollinating drone: Bees have been dying off in vast numbers and as these insects are crucial for plants to be pollinated, the issue has the potential to have an enormous knock-on impact. One fanciful solution, recalling Black Mirror, has seen some wondering whether micro-drones might be able to fulfil a similar function, artificially pollinating plants – and thereby securing the food supply.

Flood sensors: With the prospect of an increasingly unpredictable climate and rising tides, technology – including enhanced weather forecasting and monitoring by IoT sensors – can help to alert the public to danger. Flood Network, for example, works to predict and track flood conditions in the UK, helping individuals and responders to deal with crisis situations as they happen.