It’s fascinating how some feelings can hit you entirely out of the blue, when you’d least expect them, but that’s what happened yesterday to me in Japan.

I was exploring the local markets at Asasuka, and I’d found the Studio Ghibli store. There were all the things you’d expect: towels, handbags, keyrings, stickers, purses; nothing that I hadn’t really seen before, and certainly nothing that I thought would change how I feel.

Except there was. In a display cabinet, at the back of the store, there was a model of one of the robots from Laputa: Castle in the Sky. A light layer of moss, bird’s nest on its shoulder, holding a flower. And, as a complete surprise to myself, I almost cried.

Laputa has long been one of my favourite films. I probably watched it a dozen times while growing up. The imagery in it is striking, but the most moving part for me was its portrayal of technology. The robots that tend Laputa are kind and gentle; they are immortal caretakers and protectors of nature and humanity alike.

Of course, when things start to go wrong, we discover the robots also have the capacity for destruction. That’s unfortunately true for technology in general; almost anything can be weaponised. But ultimately, technology allows us to make our lives better. We’ve never had such an amazing capacity to ease suffering, cure disease, travel distances, communicate, share, explore and discover as we have now.

Our understanding of modern science is still very much in its infancy. A hundred years ago we were only just getting started with electricity, and the results have been incredible. Right now, we’re still just getting started with microbiology and genetics. I think we have a future where we don’t just cure cancer, but a future where we eliminate disease.

In many ways, the robotic caretakers of Laputa symbolise my hopes for humanity. Technology is already our caretaker; modern cities simply couldn’t exist without automation, and for someone with a pacemaker or insulin pump, technology is a central part of simply being alive. I know that we’re going to get things wrong along the way—technology is already used for warfare and oppression—but it’s my most sincere hope that our relationship with technology will allow us to become more compassionate, more creative, more inquisitive, and more human than we’ve ever been before. There is a nurturing and caring future for humanity, we just need to reach it.

It’s very rare for me to ever purchase something as a memento of my travels, but yesterday I did.

~ Paul