As teenagers take over for a special edition of the Daily Mirror, a futurologist predicts how the world will change in their lifetimes
Over the next 50 years life will change utterly – and the teenagers who put together the Daily Mirror’s special NextGen edition will be living through it
By 2069, our lives and our world could change more than in the whole of human history.
Here’s how it might play out:
Human Life
Medical advances will have eradicated major killers such as cancer. Faster brains, x-ray vision and super strength will be available at Amazon. People may live to 150 and beyond.
Blurred Reality
Artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), active skin, video tattoos, and holographics will enable us to change how we look moment to moment.
Education
Students will be monitored constantly by AI which will provide additional explanation and guidance during formal instruction through simulations and AR/VR.
World of Work
A I and its superintelligent successors will transform work and enable such wonders as grown buildings, underwater cities and thought transfer. Most routine tasks will be undertaken by robots and technology.
Environment
After major environment and climate catastrophes in the 2020s and 2030s, the planet has become a priority with a focus on zero emissions, waste, and their impact. The footprint of every activity can now be monitored. No new product or service can be introduced if it has a negative impact.
Economy and Entertainment
Critical technologies will be taken into public ownership and licensed to companies. Many businesses will exist entirely in software with no employees. Some 75% of every business will be state-owned, with profits shared by everyone. Governments will give citizens guaranteed basic incomes and range of free services. There will be a single global digital currency. Watching sport is multi-sensory – experience a game as a player sees it.
Travel
Zero emissions hypersonic aircraft fly London to New York in less than two hours or we can visit the Galapagos Islands at home via multi-sensory virtual reality.
Source: UK Mirror
