When us Boomers were growing up, technology was the enemy of the environment. All that progress is exactly what we saw as the cause of pollution and other issues that threatened the planet’s health. As Joni Mitchell sang (on that old-timey thing called a record), “They’ve paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”

Generation Z kids, on the other hand, seem to view technology as the solution to world issues. At Tribe, we’ve been interviewing this generation (kids from 8 to 15) to learn more about how they’ll impact the future workplace. Gen Z expects technology to endlessly advance, and to be key in solving issues from the environment to world hunger to international relations.

One 14-year-old respondent told us,“Technology will make it much easier. I think technology will advance enough that (environmental issues) will be something that can be solved. Like energy needs can be solved. (We’ll have) easy ways to make energy. Then we can move on to things like world hunger.”

A 10-year-old who is currently designing hovercrafts and other alternative-fuel vehicles on his iPad said, “If we just keep going on this path for another 50 or 100 years, it could be really bad.I think we can help the environment by making designs of things that can help it. When I grow up, there’ll be even more technology than we have now, so it will be easier.”

This generation also may approach international issues differently from their parents’ generation. A 14-year-old girl who maintains email relationships with friends in London and China explained, “I think we’ve learned from our parents, so we won’t make the same mistakes. Like in the Middle East or in Korea. I think we’ll approach the issue differently. Probably less aggressive, not as demanding. I think we’ll make more alliances with other countries and not like over power them.”

When these kids hit the workforce, they’ll bring that same belief in the power of technology to solve difficult problems. As opposed to Boomers, who sometimes view technology as cold and inhuman, Gen Z feels it enables them to:

• Bring creative ideas to life
• Gather knowledge on any topic
• Build and maintain human relationships
• Solve problems

In other words, they believe technology allows them to be more human, and to maximize their potential as human beings. Knowing the problems they’re likely to be up against when they’re the grownups in charge, I think they’ll need all the technology they can get.

That being said, it’s encouraging to see how Gen Z kids view the future. They seem to expect technology to continue advancing, major problems to be solvable and the world to be a better place than it is now.