Beam us all up, China

Scientists in China have moved mankind another step closer to achieving what’s only been done previously in science fiction. Their success in teleporting a tiny object from Earth into space is still far short of the “Beam me up, Scotty” scenario seen in “Star Trek”, but it’s stunning just the same. And while, for now, we can’t teleport living organisms, if the history of technology has taught us anything, it’s that we shouldn’t be blasé about what science can accomplish.
The other interesting phenomenon that this advance underscores is the geographical shift in technological breakthroughs. China, until recently best known for its copycats rather than its innovators, is accomplishing wondrous things. Its successful commercial development of the globe’s huge reserves of a frozen fuel known as “combustible ice” has the potential to revolutionise the consumption of energy. Yet even that pales in comparison to the great leap forward in teleportation.
Nations tend to use technologies, especially the more advanced types, for self-serving military and political purposes. China’s latest achievement harbours both extraordinary social potential and profound military implications. Can Beijing buck the trend and allow teleportation to serve the interests of humanity as a whole?
The breakthrough could, as one example, speed up online data sharing to such an extent that the current Internet would feel like a snail’s pace. The Chinese scientists managed to send properties of photons (particles of light) to a satellite orbiting 1,400 kilometres above the Earth – about eight times the previous record distance. Suddenly it becomes much more possible that a “quantum internet” could be established, running at unimaginable speeds.
This is early days yet and optimism has to be tempered. We have also seen how miraculous advances in pharmaceuticals have been stalled in international debate over patents rather than being promptly shared with people in need. We hear about new ways to control the weather that might help populations at risk, only for their promise to be bogged down in political games. Food-preservation techniques are steadily improving, and yet there is still famine. When new technology can’t directly serve military purposes or threatens the economic status quo, as with solar power and electric cars, progress has usually been slow.
There is also the matter of inter-government rivalry and competition. Most technological breakthroughs are jealously guarded in the countries of origin, which seek to benefit from them financially or politically. Having spent so much time catching up with others, China is now poised to take the lead technologically.
The common man will ultimately benefit, of course, but that will come later rather than sooner. Modern technology has given us smartphones, social-network communities and medical marvels. But we are constantly witnessing a problem of prioritisation. With each new advance, the focus is initially not on how it can help the world but on how the discoverers and their sponsors can become richer and more powerful. As much as money is needed to spur innovation, it is also the guiding factor in how breakthroughs are shared – or withheld.
China’s amazing feat of teleportation will likely fall into the same trap. The rest of the world – the common man, that is – can only hope that Beijing sees the wisdom in forego the lure of political and financial gain and give top priority to making life better for everyone.