Future of Future

During last 50 years, United States ruled the globe economically as well as culturally. USSR definitely tried to give little bit of competition but disintegration of USSR had made USA undisputed leader. With China now emerging as a potential superpower USA’s position will be challenged in future. The debate over what should be done about fossil fuel pollution and alternative energy raged in the new century after most of the 20th century was marked by rapid industrial expansion. Islamic fundamentalist-related terrorism on the rise, the United States and its allies will have a different kind of threat and challenge in the coming time. Digital technology – in its early stages of mainstream use in the 1980s and 1990s – became widely adopted by most of the world, though concerns about stress and anti-sociality from the overuse of mobile phones, the Internet and related technologies remained controversial. Over 1.5 billion people worldwide used the Internet by the end of the first decade and over 4 billion (more than half the world's population) used cell phones. A global financial downturn – triggered by a sub-prime mortgage crisis in the U.S. – resulted in soaring levels of personal and national debt. This led to a wrenching restructuring of many socio-political systems, but failed to address the growing divides between rich and poor. At the same time, citizens were becoming more and more aware of excessive surveillance, privacy intrusion and erosion of civil liberties by governments and the corporations influencing them. A new set of crises would emerge in the 2020s. Crude oil, no longer the cheap and plentiful commodity it had once been, was becoming subject to ever more volatility. Those countries heavily dependent on imports, in particular, were seeing economic turmoil. Alongside this, climate change was now beginning to have a major impact on worldwide food and water supplies. In the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, growing instability led to a number of resource wars. Perversely, the hunt for oil continued, with even the Arctic becoming a battleground as nations sought to claim the last remaining deposits. By the time we shall reach 2030s, it will be marked by a rapid, worldwide shift towards clean energy, algae biofuel and other renewable sources – aided by startling breakthroughs in nanotechnology. This will be followed by progress in nuclear fusion, though widespread adoption would have to wait until later in the century. Despite this, conflict was now brewing around much of the world. Africa, Asia and other regions were suffering mightily due to food shortages and a growing influx of refugees affected by climate change, resource wars and political instability. Exponential advances in computing power – in parallel with genetics, nanotechnology and robotics – will be continued into the 2040s, leading to what many called the birth of trans humanism. Ever smaller, more complex and sophisticated devices will become implantable and integrated within the human body – able to combat disease, enhance the senses and provide entertainment or communication in ways that simply were not possible before, such as full immersion virtual reality. Geopolitics will also undergo a revolution too, with India may surpass the U.S. in terms of economic power and even threatening to overtake China in the near future. Mankind will begin to escape the confines of its crowded home planet with a permanent colony on Mars in the 2050s. Even greater advances in computing power will see Artificial Intelligence will begin to play major role in business and government decisions. Economic growth will now be under severe strain, however, due to ecological impacts, resource scarcity, demographic trends, technological unemployment and other factors. By 2060, the world's population will begin to level off and plateau. This was partly a result of declining fertility rates (aided by improvements in education and birth control), but also from significant numbers of deaths caused by deteriorating environmental conditions. many nations may be devastated by the effects of climate change. Despite advances in technology, the fundamental problem remained that humanity was consuming too much, too fast, beyond what the Earth could sustainably provide. Desperate attempts were made to improve carbon capture and geo-engineering methods, but the sheer magnitude of this crisis would persist for decades to come. By 2070s, there will be major growth in the use of fusion power. Accelerated space development also marked this time, with expansion of the lunar colonies and their automated mining operations. By now, a full-scale environmental catastrophe may be unfolding on Earth, with sea levels forcing the large-scale evacuation of many cities. With continuing advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), the 2080s will see an explosion in scientific discoveries. This will help to slow down the rise in global temperatures and pave the way for a more sustainable future in the 22nd century. Trans-humanism will now a mainstream phenomenon, the average citizen becoming heavily reliant on brain-computer interfaces and other implantable devices, contributing to a decline in religious adherence. By the 2090s, Homo sapiens will no longer be dominant species on the planet. Much of the day-to-day running of world affairs will be handled exclusively by ultra-fast, ultra-intelligent machines, robots and virtual entities.

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