According to the Cambridge English Dictionary technocracy is defined as:
a government or social system that is controlled or influenced by experts in science or technology; the fact of a government or social system being influenced by such experts
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/technocracy
“Technocracy is the science of social engineering, the scientific operation of the entire social mechanism to produce and distribute goods and services to the entire population.”
The Technocrat (1938)
In the 1930’s Technocracy was designed by scientists at Columbia University as a replacement of capitalism and free enterprise. It used energy credits as a kind of currency.
The following rules can be found in the Technocracy Study Course:
(1) Register on a continuous 24 hour-per-day basis the total net conversion of energy…
https://www.technocracyinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Study-Course.pdf
(2) By means of the registration of energy converted and consumed, make possible a balanced load.
(3) Provide a continuous inventory of all production and consumption.
In the 1930’s this was not possible as there were not many computers to handle the data. Also getting the data was close to impossible.
But today computers are in almost every home in the western world and also in the pockets of a large portion of the population as SmartPhones. And with the roll out of 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) small devices can be placed anywhere and collect data and transmit it in real time.
So how does this relate to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals?
Most have heard about and probably read the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and maybe also the 169 target associated with the goals. But how many actually read the full document that was agreed upon by the nations signing on to these goals?
In the document we find paragraphs such as:
We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.
https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
In the U.S. and many countries in Europe Smart Meters have been installed in homes. They measure you power consumption in real time and send the data directly to the power company. In the U.S. Smart Meters have also been installed on the water supply going to each house.
The next step is Smart Cities. What are Smart Cities? Well according to McKinsey:
Smart cities put data and digital technology to work to make better decisions and improve the quality of life. More comprehensive, real-time data gives agencies the ability to watch events as they unfold, understand how demand patterns are changing, and respond with faster and lower-cost solutions.
Smart cities can deliver a cleaner and more sustainable environment
As urbanization, industrialization, and consumption grow, environmental pressures multiply. Applications such as building-automation systems, dynamic electricity pricing, and some mobility applications could combine to cut emissions by 10 to 15 percent.
Water-consumption tracking, which pairs advanced metering with digital feedback messages, can nudge people toward conservation and reduce consumption by 15 percent in cities where residential water usage is high. In many parts of the developing world, the biggest source of water waste is leakage from pipes. Deploying sensors and analytics can cut those losses by up to 25 percent. Applications such as pay-as-you-throw digital tracking can reduce the volume of solid waste per capita by 10 to 20 percent. Overall, cities can save 25 to 80 liters of water per person each day and reduce unrecycled solid waste by 30 to 130 kilograms per person annually.
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/smart-cities-digital-solutions-for-a-more-livable-future
What’s next? Personal Carbon taxes and limits? Well it has already been proposed in the U.K.
For more information about Technocracy and it’s origins please visit Technocracy News and watch the following videos.