Tragically, the low-technology but high-impact attacks on September 11th demonstrated that terrorism is increasingly destructive, widespread, and difficult to prevent. The severity of religious and ethnic conflicts has escalated to nuclear brinkmanship between India and Pakistan. The increasing ability of small groups and individuals to have catastrophic effects on our global life-support systems forces a variety of discussions, ranging from ethical issues in the treatment of minorities to the design of research that connects nanotechnology, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. Creating global partnerships between the rich and poor to make the world work for all, which seemed like an idealistic slogan before September 11th, may prove to be the most pragmatic direction as the possibilities increase that individuals may one day have access to weapons of mass destruction.

The interactions between population and economic growth on the one hand and environmental quality and natural resources on the other hand was the focus of 65,000 delegates and 100 heads of state as they prepared for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August 2002. The Summit has stimulated reassessments of how to implement Agenda 21, and brought greater attention to the roles of education and energy. Some military conflicts and many environmental problems are due to the lack of clean and abundant energy. Although the interdependence of economic growth and technological innovation made it possible for 3-4 billion people to have relatively good health and living conditions today, unless our financial, economic, environmental, and social behavior are improved along with our industrial technologies, the long-term future could be more difficult.

People are living longer, the world is increasingly urban, and population is growing fastest where people can least afford the necessities of life. Although the world economy has grown from $5 trillion to $30 trillion over the last 50 years, the number of people who live on $1-2 a day could grow from 2 billion to 4 billion within the next 25 years. Continued economic growth in India and China is a major engine for the reduction of world poverty, because 66% of all those surviving on $1 a day live in Asia.

Water tables are falling in every continent. Infectious diseases cause 30% of all deaths, while scores of new diseases have no known cures and some older diseases have developed drug resistance. AIDS is the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa, and the disease has begun to spread more rapidly in Central/Southern Asia and Eastern Europe. The anti-retrovirus medicine available to developing countries has fallen in cost from $10,000 to $500 per person a year, but local delivery needs greater attention. The incidence of HIV/AIDS has been cut by one-third in Brazil.

We know the world is increasingly complex and that the most serious challenges are global in nature, yet we don't seem to know how to improve and deploy Internet-based management tools and concepts fast enough to get on top of the situation.

Although many criticize globalization's potential cultural impacts, it is increasingly clear that cultural change is necessary to address global challenges. The development of genuine democracy requires cultural change; preventing AIDS requires cultural change; sustainable development requires cultural change; ending violence against women requires cultural change; ending ethnic violence requires cultural change. The tools of globalization, such as the Internet and global trade, should be used to help cultures adapt in a way that preserves their unique contributions to humanity and yet helps improve the human condition.