Are we ready for the future we think is coming?

I get the sense that we all think different things about the future that's coming. Some think darkly, as some countries do benefit from keeping its citizens misinformed about projects that create risk for us all in different ways. But what about the things we know we've been waiting for? What about not having to worry about food ever again? what about technology that makes moving around the planet as cheap as moving around an urban city? What about travel into space, or a democracy that includes all countries? Is this future coming for us? Are we ready to receive it?

         To be honest, I have no idea when or if these events will ever come to pass, but I myself can't fight the feeling that it'll happen in my lifetime. Are we really 'ready' for it, though? What would 'ready' look like?

         In simple terms, we would understand and appreciate the gifts and risks associate with using technology.

         What do we need to move forward into a future that doesn't have the issues we have today? Violence, famine, oppression, and deception prevent us from working together peacefully. New technologies wow us, but often fall short or even injure our relationships with each other or the environment. We allow large groups of people (corporations/companies) to purchase and move resources and manufacturing processes back and forth around the globe. Companies leverage untapped soils, mineral deposits, even natural springs and lakes so that they can decrease their cost of operations and sometimes so they can dispose of manufacturing waste cheaply(and discreetly).
          An example of this would be cell phone manufacturers, whose technology allows them to cheaply use precious metals and plastics to design pocket-sized smart phones. But how are customers informed about proper waste disposal of batteries and toxic metals in the electronic components? How do these manufacturers responsibly manage the way the resources are used and replenished afterwards? I'd love to see an ad for a smart phone that includes the cost of recycling the mercury, bromine, arsenic, and chlorine used in making the circuit boards and flame retardant housing and wires.
        It costs money to strip and process the waste material so that it can be introduced to dump sites without breaking down into hazardous chemicals. These byproducts and electronics waste can even leech into adjacent water tables and soil. So, because of the costs, companies instead ignore that aspect entirely, passing the responsibility on to consumers. The people living around these businesses find work at these companies where they are taken advantage of due to local currency exchange rates, labor laws, and sometimes government favor and influence. Why would we choose to conduct business this way? What motivates us to miss how our profit and expansion costs us the future of the planet we live on? Why do we as customers neglect our responsibilities to each other and to the earth we live on?
         If I were to suggest a way to improve this without changing the system, I would say that a solution could be requiring businesses to process their own waste according to the highest ecological standards. More specifically, if businesses could also be required to process their own waste after consumers have used the product/service, companies would spend more time designing products that create less waste. Products and services would come with less packaging, and consumers would no doubt have to bring their own bags(which some cities and states somewhere already do). It could work, provided the product or service actually improves our lives and brings us into the future.
         However, my experience leads me to believe that getting ready for the future more likely entails changing how we interact with others and the planet we live on. If there were changes to our society or ecosystem that happened less gradually, would we not experience upheaval and confusion? We are resistant to changes in these areas because we believe there to be too much risk involved in learning a new way of doing things, or because we just don't see how fast our future could actually get here! Our governments sometimes outright refuse to believe that we are causing any damage in the first place, and even go as far as prescribing culture that enforces ignorance of the natural world we live in! Also worth mentioning would be the advantages currently designed into cultural constructs like racism, sexism, and prejudice. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it," is something I hear a lot, but I suggest we deeply reevaluate the way we interact with others and the planet.
         We will have a serious 'problem' as a species if our ecosystem stops supporting our previously wonderful evolutionary/technological advantages by slowly becoming hostile via toxic air, toxic soil and plant life. We will have more serious problems if the way we do business with each other continues to be focused on profit and efficiency. Technology sometimes allows for greater efficiency and profit, but technology advancements need to be used responsibly and ethically to improve our human and ecological relationships. Technology could go hand in hand with ethics, and public discussion about sustainability and human health could allow us to become more conscious of the kinds of technologies that we can use without hurting ourselves in the process.
         An actual collective process for discovering and improving technologies would benefit everyone, especially if it involved ergonomic/functional design to avoid technologies that hinder us from moving forward. Examples being cell phones (again?) --- We have had to make various societal changes to adapt to the behavior that cell phones elicit. People wander around without looking up, miss out on face to face social interaction, and operate vehicles and heavy machinery while completely distracted by the activity taking place on their phones! It has definitely directed our social and intellectual advancement.
          To sum up, If we don't have conversations about how technology is changing us, we lose the conscious improvement process. Individuals(or greedy companies) will continue to come out with newer cheaper products without looking at the impact their practices have on human behavior and ecology. How will we guide ourselves into the future if we're letting ourselves be guided by businesses that are too focused on efficiency and profit?