When Bill Gates Said It Would Be 'Much Better To Be Born 20 Years From Now' Than Any Time In Past

Bill Gates in January was more optimistic about the future than the present and expressed confidence that globalization will thrive.

What Happened: "It’d be much better to be born 20 years from now, 40 years from now, 60 years from now, than any time in the past," Gates said while taking audience questions following an in-person conversation with Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr. Michael Fullilove in Australia in late January.

The amount of innovation and the improvement overall in the human condition is still going to be dramatic, the billionaire had said. He was confident in finding cures for obesity and cancer and eradicating polio.

“It's easy to get a more negative view of some of these trends than it's really fair, in my view. I'm still very optimistic,” he had said.

On Globalization: When asked whether the faltering globalization should be energized amid recent challenges or whether another narrative should be framed, Gates said that globalization is associated with a lot of things today.

He noted that the modern economy today is very hydrocarbon-dependent. If globally-traded oil is eliminated in large part, that will depress global trade, he said, adding that it is "the biggest single thing" in terms of dependency.

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“We are trying to take that miracle crude oil which, if it didn't emit greenhouse gases, is the most unbelievable thing,” Gates said. He touted it as cheaper than bottled water and more energy dense than the world's best battery by a factor of 20 times.

He also noted that there has been a huge uptick in trade thanks to developments like containerized shipping, and so there are still huge factors encouraging global trade. There are certain minerals that we need such as copper, lithium and cobalt as part of the green energy revolution, he added.

"It’s sad that we're devolving into a world where the willingness, certainly of the U.S., to be dependent on things from China, at least for a decade, will be low," Gates said.

“It'll create significant inefficiencies,” he added.

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Photo via OnInnovation on Flickr.

This story was originally published on January 29, 2023