In the Year 2125…

“In the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive, they may find…” 

So begins Zager and Evans’ iconic ballad (1969). But we won’t need to wait 500 years (2525) to know the score; 100 years should suffice nicely:

“Train A is traveling at X mph and Train B is traveling in the opposite direction at the same rate. They will collide at 10:45 AM EDT on 4/1/2125.” Prepare for it! 

I know, I know, you’ve heard it all before, countless times in fact, but this time it really, really, really is true. Things are changing! Things are changing at an accelerating rate. 

Consider how far we’ve come in just the last100 years (1925 – 2025); we’re a long way from Herbert Hoover’s campaign pledge, “A chicken in every pot.”  

• The ubiquitous American auto: ‘A car in every garage’. 

• Television: ‘A TV in every bedroom’. 

• The PC: ‘A computer in every home’.

• Cell Phone: ‘A phone in every pocket’.

• Smart Phone: ‘A computer in every cell phone’.

Then there’s…  

• Mail → Fax → FedEx → Email → DM

• The World Wide Web

• E-commerce: “Amazon calling!”

• Atomic energy harnessed: Dr. Strangelove.

• Space exploration & travel: “…One giant leap…”

• DNA discovered; genome sequenced. 

The 20th century changed just about everything we thought we knew about the world. Why would we expect anything less from Century 21?

The 20th Century may be remembered as the time where human beings finally asserted control over their environment (for better or worse). If so, Century 21 may be known as the time when we assert control over ourselves. For example…

• AGI (AI) will permeate every aspect of our lives, democratizing knowledge and marginalizing native human intelligence. We will not so much think as be thought.

• We will build new life forms (carbon, silicon, hybrid) from scratch.

• Personal aerial vehicles are routine, (Meet George Jetson!)

• DNA will routinely be modified in utero and in vitro. Parents will mix and match their children’s traits online.

• We will regrow damaged limbs and organs.

• We will extend the crash cart ‘life recovery period’ from a few minutes to hours.

• Organic and inorganic body parts will be routinely interchanged.

• Regular, authentic, monitorable telepathic communication will occur regularly. 

• Regular, authentic, symbolic and/or telepathic communication will occur with various species of animals and plants.

• Most diseases (other than engineered pathogens) will be eradicated. 

• Life expectancy will extend beyond age 100.

• Permanent, self-sustaining colonies will thrive at various locations in our Solar System. Mars will be terraformed into the Bread Basket of the Solar System. 

• Increased productivity will allow for the virtual elimination of poverty and taxation and for the provision of a generous guaranteed annual income for all. 

Century 21 will be ‘remembered’ as the time we took on Death and Taxes…and won! 

Notice that none of my predictions requires a conceptual break with what we know today. Such breakthroughs cannot be predicted or described, except to say that they will undoubtedly occur.

So the future is indeed bright…if we can get there. Unfortunately, there is a competing set of scenarios which are on the whole more probable and which will render all of the above meaningless. Ironically, the closer we get to utopia, the greater the risk of a wrong turn.

Here are just a few of the mistakes we need to avoid:

• A Superbug. COVID-19 was a shot across our bow. Whether accidentally or deliberately, human manipulation of the genetic code has the potential to create and release a deadly pathogen that we cannot eradicate or control.

• Nuclear War. We spent the ‘50s crouched under our desks at school…and nothing happened. The world’s political leaders proved more responsible than we expected. But the geo-political climate is much more dangerous today than it was 65 years ago and WMDs are proliferating.

• Hal 1000 (from 2001- A Space Odyssey). We are capable of creating an artificial life form with the power to make decisions that will lead to human extinction or enslavement.

• Devolution. AI stifles thinking, Social Media replaces community, media ratings replace electoral democracy, Artificial Selection reduces genetic resilience. 

• The Borg Collective.

Notice what’s not on the catastrophe list: 

• Climate Change. I believe that technology already exists, or soon will, to solve our climate problem. We lack the political will to deploy it; but as we get closer to Armageddon, that will change (I hope).

• Extraterrestrials. I don’t know if they exist but if they do, I doubt we’ll make contact in the coming century. And who knows, perhaps they’ll come in peace.

So buckle up! You’ve got a great ride ahead of you…I hope.

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