Next 40 years: end of aging, nanodust, superintelligent machines

By Dick Pelletier

      

    Forward thinkers believe we will experience more discoveries in the next 4 decades than we did during the last 2,000 years. In The Singularity is Near, author Ray Kurzweil explains how new technologies will change the ways we live, work, and play; and even alter our definition of what it means to be human. The following advances are predicted for the next 40 years:

     Computers, TVs and Phones Converge by 2020 – The computer, keyboard and mouse are gone. Internet data, 3D-TV, and movies, are accessed by wireless electronics that read our voice, gestures, and thoughts; then display images on walls, cell phones, or directly onto our eyes.

    Healthcare Brings An End to Aging – During the 2020s, doctors direct stem cells to re-grow worn tissues, bones, muscles, and skin. By late 2020s, nanobots maintain health throughout the body and these clever machines have finally brought an end to humanity’s most dreaded scourge – aging.

    With most adults now living in forever-youthful, healthy bodies, age is important mostly as an indicator of life experience.

    Education Moves to the Net – By 2025, children receive most of their education from the Internet. This is as normal for tomorrow’s kids as the PC was to their parents, or the telephone to their grandparents.

    Intelligent avatars recognize learning difficulties and alter curriculum as needed. They diagnose violent tendencies and provide corrective therapies, turning troubled students into model citizens.

    By 2025, Robots Surpass Cars In Importance – Priced $30,000-$100,000, robots perform many tasks and are often outsourced on jobs to earn extra money. Prized for personality and wit, ‘bots have become the most popular family purchase.

    The Internet Promotes Affluence – In spite of Web influence diminishing government control, most 3rd world countries recognize its economic benefits. By 2030, 75% of the world is building a better life through opportunities discovered on the net.

    Mind-Altering Nanodust Curbs Violence – Pessimistic views of the future portray a world of terrorism and violence. But this picture was proven wrong. By 2040, most military and police forces employ nano-sprays developed by the DOD that temporarily disrupts minds without killing. Although this system is seen by some as invading personal rights, it has reduced violence and crime everywhere.

    Human-Machine Merge – Theoretical Physicist Paul Davies, in his book The Eerie Silence writes that humanity’s future lies in transitioning into non-biological beings. "Biological life is transitory;" he says, "it’s only a fleeting phase of evolution."

    Kurzweil believes merging with machines is the only logical outcome of future technologies. He predicts that by mid-2030s, artificial intelligence will outthink humans and researchers will develop means to interface with these smart machines to share their knowledge.

    By 2050, bold pioneers will begin replacing more of their biology with stronger non-biological muscles, bones, organs, and brains.

    Some critics believe these changes will make us less human, but positive futurists remind us that we’ve added non-biological parts such as eye glasses, cochlear implants, and titanium hip replacement for decades and nobody believes these improvements take away our humanity.

    The coming decades promise to change our lives beyond the wildest imaginings of science fiction. Will this incredible future unfold so quickly? This writer is confident that it will.

This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.