When talking about the future, we usually focus on innovative technologies and ideas that change our lives. But at the center of all transformations are people. How will the future affect each of us?
Futurology, of course, will not give unambiguous answers to all questions, and the forecasts used by specialists in this field may not come true. And although we cannot fully prepare for the future, we can fully prepare for individual options for its development.
Futurologists are faced with the difficult task of embracing the almost immensity, because in the future all spheres of a person’s life will look different – as, probably, he himself.
In the field of futurology, several (relatively conditional) directions can be distinguished.
The man himself
The first people who will live in the new world have already been born. This is the Alpha generation or the generation of screens: children who interact with gadgets almost from birth and have their own “digital footprint”, although they don’t even understand what it is yet. How will their psychology, values and guidelines change? And what awaits humanity as a whole – eternal life or extinction?
What to see about biohacking and DNA editing
- Unnatural Selection (“Unnatural selection”). A new Netflix documentary series immerses viewers in the lives of scientists and amateurs who use genome editing technologies and conduct experiments, including on themselves.
- Body Clock: What Makes Us Tick? (“The biological clock: what makes it work?”). This episode of the BBC Horizon TV documentary series explores the concept of the biological clock and how it actually works.
- Redesign My Brain (“Charging for a super brain”). An Australian documentary series by ABC Australia in which TV presenter Todd Sampson attempts to expand the boundaries of the brain based on the theory of its neuroplasticity.
- Video: How The Matrix showed us our future
More on the topic:
Habitat
Planet
Thanks to human activity, she is going through hard times. In this connection, we need to take care of it so as to leave it in a condition suitable for the life of future generations. In addition, technology can allow a person to live, if not indefinitely, then at least much longer than now – where will all these people live? One of the scenarios is the development of other space objects
- 10 billion people will be the population of the Earth in 2057. There are currently 7,8 billion people on our planet.
- 41,9 years will be the median age of humanity by 2100 (half people will be older, half younger). In 2015, this figure was only 29,6 years.
- 81,7 years on average in the world will be the life expectancy of newborns in 2100 against the current 72 years.
- 100% will reach the five-year survival rate of patients with brain tumors by the mid-2080s.
- The year 2068 may go down in the history of civilization as the moment when all the currently explored oil reserves will run out on earth (subject to stable demand for it).
- According to the most modest forecasts, the global space industry by 1 will amount to $2040 trillion, which is three times what it is now.
- $25 is the minimum price of a certificate that gives you the right to own one acre of land on Mars (about 0,4 hectares).
- The 100th anniversary of the lunar landing of American astronauts on the Apollo 11 spacecraft will be celebrated with pomp in 2069 by the colonizers of the Earth’s satellite. By then, the landing site will be a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular space tourism destination.
What else to read on the topic:
- State
The development of technology in the countries of the world goes at different rates. In the future, this may lead to an even greater gap between “rich” and “poor” states. But will the concept of states remain in principle in the context of digitalization, blurring the boundaries? How does money evolve? How is the economy changing?
Renowned Israeli historian and futurist Yuval Noah Harari believes that we are already in the midst of an “arms race” in everything related to artificial intelligence (AI). Now China and the United States are leading the way, leaving many other countries far behind. If we do not distribute the opportunities and results that AI gives us to all people, huge wealth will be concentrated in only a few high-tech centers, while the rest of the states will either go bankrupt or become exploited digital colonies. At the same time, we are talking about a rather primitive AI, which, nevertheless, is enough to upset the global balance. In addition, uneven control over data can lead to digital dictatorships.
Cities, houses and transport
A distinctive feature of the cities of the present and future is sprawl, as well as speed and the innate desire of all living things to increase it. At the same time, “smart” technologies are developing by leaps and bounds and, according to various forecasts, will soon be ubiquitous – both within a particular home and in a global sense. This trend, in turn, carries both advantages and serious threats.
What else to read on the topic:
Work
Experts are increasingly saying that we all urgently need to change our approach to education and careers so that robots do not take our jobs in the future. But how to master absolutely new professions that are not taught anywhere? What will people who live twice, three times as long as we do now do?
- 57 professions in the manufacturing sector will disappear by 2030 as a result of robotization, but they will be replaced in the same period by another 180 fundamentally new specialties.
- 1 billion service robots (for personal use and services) will work by 2034 – dozens of times more than now.
- $10 trillion will appear on the Forbes list by the early 2070s.
- By 180%, or almost three times, the number of people belonging to the middle class will grow worldwide between the 2010s and 2040s.
- 1 billion human brains will be equivalent to the performance of the most powerful supercomputer on earth by 2058.
What else to see and read on the topic:
Arts and Leisure
The formats of hobbies, leisure activities, as well as the consumption and creation of art, literary and musical works will change. What will they be? Will we unite with robots in this, or will we feel our significance and uniqueness as a person here? Already, AI creates paintings, stories and music, but who will own the rights to these works?
Communication and relationships will also change in the future: gadgets are already influencing how we make friends and get to know each other. Next in line are new formats of family, cohabitation, as well as other approaches to divorce, love and children.
What else to see and read on the topic:
Business
We are still living in the futuristic dreams of the last century (robots, space, virtual reality). Already, programs for the exploration of other planets are being developed, the abilities and methods of using AI are being improved, new methods of monitoring human health and life expectancy are being invented. But is there a real market for all these projects? How to find demand for them?
What to read and watch on the topic:
Probably, changes await us not only in already familiar and familiar areas: most likely, something from the existing one will become obsolete and disappear as unnecessary, something will be transformed into a completely new one. One thing remains unchanged – curiosity: what awaits us in the future, how to influence it?
As the American visionary Peter Diamandis stated earlier, curiosity and imagination are one of the main engines of human development. As long as we set goals, ask questions and move towards our vision of a desirable future, a person retains the ability to exist in the world of algorithms, robots and artificial intelligence and the ability to maintain his individuality.