*Talk about tech-lash; gee whiz, this is pitiful. And to think that the 2020s are at hand. What are we gonna do for amazing hot-pink tech visions? This is a world built for Margrethe Vestager.
10.15.19
Months ago, when we first started planning our special WIRED25 issue, the editors quickly agreed that the people we considered for inclusion on the list couldn’t just be “folks who are harnessing technology to do cool stuff.” Because what we’ve all learned in the past few years is that the relentless pursuit of progress in technology and science can have massive and sometimes deleterious repercussions: climate change, biased algorithms, deadly diseases, tech monopolies. Turns out, disrupting markets and industries to “make the world a better place” is frequently just cover for leveraging VC funding, personal data, or an uncertain job market to make the disruptors’ world a better place.
So we went searching for people who are racing to save us from ourselves—taking on big, thorny problems, the solutions to which might not boost “value for stockholders” but are instead focused on boosting value for humanity and the world. Our writers and editors made dozens and dozens of suggestions for folks who fit the bill. We wanted to be sure to cover a broad range of subjects and feature a diverse group of people, but most of all we needed to showcase people who are making real efforts to address challenges that in many ways are already out of hand (it’s no accident that climate change looms large in the WIRED25).
It’s good news for all of us that so many people are moving fast to actually fix things. But the editors had just 25 slots to fill. What’s an organization to do? Meetings. And more meetings. Lively discussions about why this person and not that one (even though they’re awesome too!), and why this tech or scientific approach to a problem is more viable than another. Luckily, printer deadlines have an amazing ability to focus the mind—and accelerate decision-making. Whether it’s arming the immune system’s T-cells to precisely target tumors, developing eco-friendly alternatives to livestock-industry meat, or monitoring the internet to sniff out hate and harassment, the 25 people and groups here offer real hope that we can fix the mistakes of the past and build a future we can be proud of.
Jon J. Eilenberg | Articles Editor
