What do geoengineering and virtual reality gadgets have in common?

For starters, a fact that can even be unsettling when considering some of these technologies: they are not futuristic pipe dreams or very long-term possibilities. They are not just around the corner, but here or knocking on the door. The same meat manufactured in bioreactors as quantum computing; hydrogen-powered planes or the metaverse; vertical farming or 3D printed bone implants; the direct suction of carbon dioxide from the air or, something that is dizzying just to think about it, brain interfaces.

The developers and the investors behind them mean business, and in a hurry, in all cases. With decisive advances, pilot tests or launches. So, for the rest of mortals, it is worth asking ourselves the meaning and implications of such profound changes that concern us, if not all directly or immediately, yes in imminent challenges and unrepeatable opportunities. Even what might seem further away concerns us, such as the solar radiation management proposal.

This is not the only geoengineering initiative under development. It is not on the list, but for years work has been done on marine fertilization systems to promote the growth of phytoplankton that captures and buries massive amounts of CO2 at the bottom of the sea.

Also, the new Center for Climate Repair at the University of Cambridge is investigating methods to refreeze the poles or clear clouds with certain substances to increase albedo. There are also people working on the development of artificial coral reefs, to save the ecosystems that depend on them and the ecological and economic services they provide us. The point is that neither these initiatives are the stuff of science fiction: they will advance in 2022, which may be their defining year.

As mentioned in the selection of The Economist, Harvard University hopes to conduct a first experiment this year with a balloon that would probably release calcium carbonate to measure how it dissipates and reacts with atmospheric gases and solar energy. It has also established an independent advisory panel to study moral and political considerations.

Also this year, several virtual reality companies such as Meta-owned Oculus are slated to launch new models of headsets, and Elon Musk's Neuralink is looking to test a brain chip that allows paralyzed people to work on a computer. wireless way.

If you don't think it concerns you, in case you are not a “digital native”, think about how much smartphones and social networks changed your life, and in how long. If you are, how much do you think could change if being online engages your brain live?

Geoengineering is a cutting-edge research area that not a few scientists consider as plan B, an obligatory complement to the reduction of emissions and capture of greenhouse gases. The point is that we are talking about the manipulation of the life cycles of the planet, which arouses such fundamental concerns as changes in rainfall or irreversible damage to the oxygenation of water and its effect on marine fauna.

There are many questions, from risks to responsibilities: who should make the decisions and with what legitimacy? Only in cutting-edge centers of science or technology, like Cambridge and Silicon Valley? Only the political leaders who are lucky, conscious and responsible or ignorant and foolish?