Can Technology Bring World Peace?

WHY SOME SAY YES

They believe that technology can promote communication that unites people. With the help of the Internet, social media, mobile phones, and apps that assist with language translation, people from different countries and cultures can talk to one another instantly. In some cases, technology has been used to host conversations between conflicting groups when it might not be possible or safe to meet in person.

They believe that technology can prevent conflicts. Tools such as artificial intelligence and satellite images could be used to monitor potential conflict zones. If authorities can learn of hate speech and other signs of unrest, they will be able to prevent a full-scale conflict.

They believe that technology can improve the economy. One way is by generating jobs. When there are more jobs and better pay, there is less frustration and inequality, which can reduce conflict.

For example, technology can improve farming and factory operations and give people access to online education and financial services. Such advances can help communities become more stable, giving less reason for conflict.

TO THINK ABOUT

Technology can contribute to peace only if those using it want peace.

What happens when technology is used by those who promote conflict?
How can technology bring world peace when it is being used to create advanced weapons?
Can technology change a heart that is filled with greed, hatred, or prejudice?

Clockwise from top: U.S. Air Force graphic; Creation Art/stock.adobe.com; Guido Mieth/DigitalVision via Getty Images; 3dsculptor/stock.adobe.com

Technology can contribute to peace only if those using it want peace

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS

“From inside, out of the heart of men, come injurious reasonings: . . . murders, . . . greed, acts of wickedness, deceit, brazen conduct, an envious eye, . . . haughtiness, and unreasonableness.”—Mark 7:21, 22.

According to those Bible verses, conflict is often rooted in a person’s desires, thoughts, and attitudes. Indeed, people often fight because of greed, envy, or pride. Technology, no matter how advanced, cannot remove these traits.

Technology is simply a tool. It can be used either to build bridges that unite people or to create weapons that destroy them. Even the best technology can be misused if those using it have bad intentions.

The Bible teaches that world peace will come, not through technological advancements, but through God’s Kingdom. (Matthew 6:10) Through that Kingdom, God will bring “an end to wars throughout the earth” and destroy the weapons used in them. (Psalm 46:9) People will learn to be peaceable by changing how they think and feel about others. (Isaiah 54:13) In time, the attitudes that lead to war will no longer exist.—Psalm 37:10, 11; Ephesians 4:22-24, 31, 32.

A man inside a scorched apartment building peers out of a shattered window.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

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