When I seen the #PredictTheFuture challenge I couldn't resist signing up for this one! This is actually something I've given a lot of thought too.
What Will The World Be Like in 2067?
Well, to start with, if I live that long, I'll be pushing close to 100 years old. I've often said, I wish I could live another 100 years just to see where we, as a species are 100 years from now. Not seeing what this all leads up to will be one of life's biggest disappointments for me!
These are such exciting times. We are now stepping out of the industrial age and entering the digital age. Full steam ahead! We're leaving our anaolog world behind and riding the waves of cyberspace into a new digital age where so many new possibilities reside. I'm guessing a lot is going to change over the next 40 years or so.
Natural Changes
I think the world will go through a series of natural and man made changes over the next 40 years. Climate change is real, I can't be certain of the cause of it, but there is no doubt the climate is changing before our eyes.
With climate changes we may see some subtle changes to coastal regions as far as geography. With water rising some coastal cities may disappear or need to be relocated. This could be extremely disruptive and costly.
Whether or not pollution is a factor in climate change I think our issues with pollution could go either way . If we don't begin to adopt renewable energy sources and natural energy sources we could see a rise in really awful pollution levels. On the flip side of that, if we do adopt electric vehicles and renewable energy we could very well see a significant reduction in pollution. One way or the other, the world is either going to be much cleaner or much dirtier.
Which leads me to population. I don't have the figures on this but in 40 years time the world will have a much, much larger population. I can only speculate but with the rise of Artificial Intelligence and robotics, this could be a huge problem for a growing population. There are going to be large amounts of mouths to feed and probably considerably less jobs to sustain the population.
People also said this at the start of the industrial revolution. Now in the production phase of this era, once we incorporate AI and robotics that prediction will probably become very relevant. We wont all become coders and programmers and even many of those jobs could be replaced by AI. There probably wont be a huge need for manual labor either. Jobs and poverty could become an issue in a future where AI and robotics take most of the jobs.
Government
This leads me to government. I think much of the upheaval we see today is the result of people realizing the world is changing quickly. We rely on government to solve a lot of our problems but we're starting to realize they probably don't have the answers either. On top of that, it's obvious current systems of government are broken and no longer serve the interest of "the people". Crony capitalism and corruption have slowly infiltrated almost every aspect of government and it's obvious it won't be tolerated much longer.
In the next 40 years or so I think we're going to see a lot change in the area of government. With the adoption of AI and Robotics some version of socialism will probably be inevitable. There will probably be a need to insure people are taken care of. Regardless, I think government will begin to look much different from what we have today. As things continue to deteriorate we will probably see a growing number of the citizenry take a REAL interest in their politics. I personally would love to see a system where we do away with the congress and senate and the people themselves vote via blockchain on our laws and amendments. We now live in an era where representation is no longer needed. Each citizen can represents themselves connected via internet and secure voting can be achieved via blockchain technology. This would greatly reduce government and be a much more "democratic" system of rule. Probably a dream now, but a similar system of government could be possible in the future.
Technological changes.
I don't even know where to start. I think we're going to see a lot change on the technology front. Let's start with the obivious. I think we'll see huge advancements in AI over the next 40 years. This could also lead to medical advancements as well, which could also lead to longer life spans and even larger populations.
Robotics will probably become more and more commonplace as we see manual labor replaced by robotics. GPS navigated mail bots for packages will probably be a thing. Keep in mind I grew up in the 80s and we were all pretty convinced as kids we'd have robots already. I think we'll see that dream a reality over the next 40 years though. We'll probably even see jobs like coding, surgery, and farming being replaced by robots and AI. So I expect to see more and more robots over the next 40 years.
I'm guessing electric, self driving transportation will probably be the norm in the next 40 years or so. Again, we're seeing the birth of it now and I suspect it's just a matter of time. As car batteries are able to driver longer distances on shorter charging times, the oil and gas era will come to an end. GPS navigation will probably become safer than manually driven cars as well. Cars will likely become like perosnal limousines with entertainment centers and bars to enjoy during the trip. Here's hoping! LOL
I think passenger capable quad-copter drones could possibly replace cars in the near future as well. Just punch in your GPS coordinates and the drone flies you to your destination. Not sure if we'll see this in the next 40 years but I don't think it's very far off.
Cyberspace and VR will likely be incredibly popular. I suspect it's just a matter of time till we have a Ready Player One scenario. For anyone not familiar with the title, it's a book about virtual reality worlds where people are more comfortable online in VR than they are in real life. VR will probably become the social norm for entertainment and possibly even socializing. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if schools were eventually replaced by VR systems as well. Many people will likely live, work, learn and play in the comfort of their own homes. I imagine we'll begin to see this taking shape more and more over the next 40 years or so.
Which leads me to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. I think this is the inevitable future of money and finance. I'd be shocked if we didn't have some mainstream crypto solution in the next 40 years. Frankly, I think it's the glue that holds the rest of this vision together. Imagine ordering an Uber, paying with crypto currency while driving and socializing with freinds via a VR headset. I really don't think that scenario is very far off and has a high probability. Not to mention a digital currency is just going to work better in a digital world. Paper money is so analog in this scenario. š¤£
Final Thoughts
I think we're going to see a lot change over the next 40 years. Around the start of the millennium I had an uncle pass that was born in 1910. I couldn't imagine everything he had seen over the last 80 years of his life. He remembered an era where it was common to see a horse and buggy downtown in the city. He remembered the steam engine and early cars. He remembered the neighborhood I grew up in as fields he used to play in as child. He spent his life working as a factory worker and truck driver. He fought for workers rights and unionization of the work force. He remembered the civil rights marches and several different wars. The digital age was completely alien to him. There was no need for a smart phone, and he barely recognized the need for a computer in the house. God forbid someone asked him for his email address :) I don't even think he had a microwave oven and still had an actual wood buring stove you could cook on in his basement that he used every Thanksgiving to cook the family turkey.
In a lot of ways, I can't help but think that 40 years from now, I'll feel somewhat similar in my alienation of current culture. I'll remember a time before computers, smart phones or even cable tv. I'll remember antennas on top of houses with 3 tv channels to choose from. I'll remember gas powered automobiles. I'll remember the birth of the home computer and how the internet changed all our lives. I'll remember the birth of cryptocurrency and smile at my small part in ushering in a new age of finance. I'll look back at life lived somewhere between the age of analog and digital. I'm certain 200 years from now, we won't even be able to comprehend where all this technology will take us or how much things will change. Our ancestors will look back on our time the same way many of us look back at the wild west or early points of civilization. We won't even be able to fathom a world without VR or laugh about those noisy gas powered automobiles driving up and down the street and don't get me started about all the polution or the way they processed their foods š
Present Reality
I can never talk about this topic without touching on our present reality. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE TECHNOLOGY. I have since the mid 90s when I fell in love with the internet. We are living in such an incredible time. I think the fact of the matter is, TODAY, we decide whether we give birth to a future dystopia or a future utopia. We have a serious choice to make and we'll be making it for the generations to come. Our future children and grandchildren are counting on us to make the right choices.
Our current system of technology will and can be used to greatly improve our lives or greatly hinder our lives. The issues that we're deciding on now with data rights, privacy, corporate responsibility and government over-reach or even government involvement in our personal lives will affect future generations. We have to choose wisely. This technology has the ability to completely enslave us or give us freedoms like we've never seen before. The choise is ours but make no mistake about it, those choices are going to have a huge impact on the future.
If we don't blow ourselves up in some sort of asinine war fought over imaginary borders, resources and dehumanizing the enemy who is realistically no different than you or me. The future could be incredible. Yet, the more technologically advanced we become, the more it seems were building a society straight out of the pages of the book 1984. The privacy implications and systems of control this technology could unleash is absolutely staggering. We have to decide now if we want big brother to know our every move, track every transaction we make and be able to analyze every aspect of our lives. This is the power that we've created and this is the direction we are heading in. This is dystopia or at least it seems like we're heading in that direction.
Do we want cameras on every street corner watching our every move? If every camera was replaced with a soldier holding a gun would you feel differently? Is it appropriate for the government to know every single thing I spend my money on? Does anyone really need to know where I go all day or how I choose to entertain myself? Sure these systems may make us feel safer, but is it really worth it at the cost of our freedom?
Most of us wouldn't dream of allowing a future like that to unfold however, we're seeing it get worse and worse every year. "The powers that be" disguise it as safety issues, or health issues but regardless of how it is packaged and sold to the masses, totalitarianism and fascism seem to be growing at an alarming rate. Living in a surveillance state is not conducive to freedom and liberty. I pray for a future where people understand the basic concepts of liberty and freedom.
I don't know if we're heading into a dystopian or utopian future, but I do know that our choices today will decide which outcome plays out. I pray we make the right decisions so our children and grand children grow up in a world they can be proud of and understand.
I think the future looks bright. We have everything we need to create our utopia. The choice is ours. Do we allow a small group of people to lead us into dystopia, or do we put our foot down and demand a future we can be proud of?
This is a subject I could go on and on about for days. I barely scratched the surface of where I see us heading into the future. Part of me hopes and believes the future will be beautiful and another part of me is scared to death by the future we "could" create. I sincerely wish I could live another 100 years to see where this all leads. My biggest disappointment at the time of my death will be not knowing what happens in our future world! It almost feels like life is a TV series that gets canceled at the time of our death and the producers left us with a cliff hanger the previous season š We'll all be doomed to an eternity of wondering what happened š
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