The earth is dying.
Long live Mars?

What fascinates you? Most people have a topic that captivates them. For me, it’s always been technology. Tractors when I was little. Then at some point my first motorcycle, which I initially had to fiddle with (screw by screw) to get it to work. I have a total understanding for those who give up everything for a dream! Because I myself am very grateful that in my life I can do something positive for society, for people, with my enthusiasm for technology.

With cognitive robotics, we are currently in the process of building the first intelligent, versatile helpers for everyday life. Neuras cognitive robots, for example, will probably soon enable many elderly people and those in need of assistance to live longer in their own homes.

But whenever I am happy about our successes at Neura – big or small – I ask myself: what could we achieve for humanity and our planet if we were to combine the skills of the brightest minds and the financial resources of the wealthiest people and put them to good use here on earth.

We’ve made the biggest changes on ‘record’ for the climate, investing vast sums to replace fuelled cars with electric cars, with sometimes questionable overall balance – if you think of resources needed for batteries and consider that we are again exploiting the poorest people in Africa to get these raw materials in sufficient quantities. Elon Musk, of whom people like to try to convince me that he is a role model, is investing billions in the production of a car that will help us save a massive amount of CO2. But Elon has another dream. A topic that fascinates him. Space travel. Has Elon ever calculated how many tons of CO2, which he laboriously saves with sold Teslas, are used – or more accurately released – by his thousands and thousands of rocket launches at SpaceX? That would really interest me, personally. This is just one example of many, but it clearly shows that our dreams sometimes lead us to fundamentally absurd actions. Of course, it would be great to have internet access in every remote corner of the planet. However, is it a sensible plan to launch 60,000 rockets when at the same time we are being warned everywhere that global warming could soon wipe out humanity? No, I’m not proud when people refer to me as the German Elon Musk. Because to be honest, I would act completely differently if I had his resources at my disposal. Why should we fly to Mars for many billions of dollars with the hope of somehow surviving there, when we could be solving so many problems here on our Earth – for a fraction of that budget.

I’m thinking of things like turning salt water into drinking water and making deserts green. We have the technology for both – otherwise we could not seriously believe that we could make Mars habitable. Only, some billionaire would have to have the dream to invest his means and those of his billionaire friends here on earth. That way, not only could we eliminate human suffering and poverty, but we could also dramatically slow down climate change by turning deserts into habitable green lands. Surely, we should all have a huge interest in this.

In some respects, there are areas in which I am similar to Elon Musk. I would like to see comparable economic success and, as a result, the same unbridled trust of banks and investors that Elon Musk enjoys. But my code will always remain: Earth first. Take me at my word!