What Will The People Of The Future Be Like - Alternative View

What Will The People Of The Future Be Like - Alternative View
What Will The People Of The Future Be Like - Alternative View

Video: What Will The People Of The Future Be Like - Alternative View

Video: What Will The People Of The Future Be Like - Alternative View
Video: What will people wear in the future? | The Economist 2024, May
Anonim

If we proceed from the fact that the theory of evolution is correct, then people, as a species, in their present state will remain practically unchanged. Indeed, we do not need to somehow change, since we are no longer dependent on environmental factors - the level of development of our civilization is such that we are no longer in danger. We are not talking, of course, about some kind of global cataclysms that can completely destroy us, but all other factors of a local nature are certainly not afraid of us.

Our own desires are quite another matter. Humanity will always want to get the most out of life that it can give us, so here we have practically unlimited possibilities. The twentieth century has opened up a lot of new things for humanity, and all these discoveries are capable of radically changing not only our way of life, but also humanity itself in the very near future.

Since ancient times, the dream of humanity has been immortality; well, or at least a long life without disease. The latter has already been practically implemented. The modern level of medicine allows you to maintain a person's life and good condition for a long time. Of course, not everyone can, like some moneybags, pay for heart replacement surgery every 3-5 years, however, do not forget that if the technology is already open, then the issue of its cost reduction is technical. In about a couple of decades, transplant operations will be almost generally available.

3-4 generations will pass and most of modern diseases will be defeated. Advances in biology have already confirmed things like cloning and cryonics in practice. In the future, this will enable humanity not only to produce clones of our organs, but also, possibly, completely create new bodies, transferring the consciousness of aging people into them. The moral and ethical problems that arise in this case, and especially the opposition of all sorts of clericals, of course, will take place, but when the phenomenon becomes widespread, all retrogrades will simply be forced to shut up.

Modern means of prosthetics make it possible not only to replace the limbs that are missing from people as a result of trauma, controlling them by deciphering nerve impulses, but also to create bioelectronic prostheses of the eyes and ears. Already today, people without sight and hearing can see and hear thanks to such devices. So far, these are only primitive adaptations, but this is not the main thing. The main thing is that we have already decoded the signals going to our brain from the senses. And if the principle of operation is known, then the improvement of devices is only a technical issue.

The logical next step would be to create special implants that will enable people to communicate remotely, without using any means of communication. But this is the very telepathy that mankind has dreamed of for so long.

Already today we have learned to change the genetic codes of plants and animals, making food production much cheaper than, for example, a hundred years ago. The next step is the transformation of the human genome. It is no secret that the predisposition to many chronic diseases is hereditary, therefore, the fight against this "bad" heredity will necessarily be carried out with the use of genetic engineering and other not yet developed branches of biology. On this path, humanity will not be easy, since the task of changing its own essence is much more difficult to implement than creating something new.

According to statistics, over the past 200 years, each subsequent generation has lived 3-4 years longer than the previous one, and this time increases every year. At this rate, by the end of the 21st century, the average life expectancy will be over 110 years. And the improvement of biological systems of brain protection will extend this period up to 300 years.

Promotional video:

The use of advanced technologies will allow everyone not only to look the way they want, but also have the opportunities that they want. It is possible that the scene from the legendary "Matrix", where the helicopter control program is loaded into the brain in a few seconds, will become commonplace in fifty years.

The changes will affect not only the physiological or mental capabilities of humanity. Very soon, such a phenomenon as artificial intelligence will appear, and it is possible that this form of life (namely, life, because consciousness is essentially a product of mental activity) will require some special, new approaches in matters of rights and morality. It is possible that artificial intelligence will pose a threat to us, as is often depicted in many dystopias, but a rational approach to this phenomenon and a competent distribution of roles in the society of the future will save us from such fears.

As for the social aspect, it is possible that in the near future we will nevertheless move on to a single social system and a single language. The next stage will be the implementation of, albeit naive, but very relevant communist principle "from each according to his ability", because the needs of all people in one way or another in the society of the future will be satisfied.

Undoubtedly, the remnants of the primitive features of human nature in the form of xenophobia and intolerance to “not like everyone else” will persecute humanity for a long time, however, we are not savages, so as not to understand their stupidity and those dead ends into which they can lead us.

But the fun begins when you approach such a phenomenon as the technological singularity. At this point, progress will become so rapid that it will simply be beyond comprehension. Roughly speaking, such achievements will occur and such discoveries will be made that they will be outdated at the moment of invention or discovery.

Technological singularity is impossible without three main components: artificial intelligence, mechanisms capable of self-reproduction and, most importantly, a significant improvement in the abilities of the human brain. And if everything is clear with the first two circumstances, but what does our brain have to do with it?

The answer is not as simple as it seems at first glance. The fact is that the speed of thinking of modern people is very slow. And, for example, in order to communicate with the computer, give it commands, write a program and so on, we have to keep our electronic friend waiting. Moreover, the time of this waiting takes more than 99.9% of the total communication time. It's as if we meet someone, say the only word "hello" to him, and then wait a few hours and leave.

Scientists see several ways to improve the speed of our brain so that it can process and transmit information at speeds close to the speeds of modern computers.

The first way is to increase the biological complexity of the brain through biotechnology. The second, very radical, is the movement of human consciousness into the computer. And, despite the fact that this idea seems completely wild, it is very realizable, because what is our mental activity, if not the flow of impulses between neurons? What difference does it make where they will flow: in the biological membrane or in conductors? “I think, therefore I am” - this is how the 17th century mathematician Rene Descartes gave us a recipe for immortality.

To many, this idea does not seem positive. After all, to give up your body means to deprive yourself of that part of nature that is given to us by nature itself. Not to mention the fact that many will not understand the full depth of this idea. There will even be opponents of this approach. But, at that point in time, it will no longer matter.

Besides, why is it necessary to transfer consciousness into an "iron box". Nothing prevents humanity from creating a living organism, in which there will be no aging mechanism (for example, telomeres in modern cells) and transferring consciousness into it. In any case, when the old body has exhausted its resource, it will be possible to move to the new one, and so on.

What will be our future, we do not know. Perhaps things will not be as happy as modern futurists predict. Perhaps many disappointments await us when scientists discover some new restrictions that will be imposed on us by the achievements of the near future. Mankind's striving for the perfection of its physical and mental properties will remain unchanged at all times. The thirst for knowledge and the desire for the best will always prevail over primitive instincts and our innate vices.