One year ago inhis speech atthe Oxford University Union, the legendary Stephen Hawking proclaimed that humanity can only survive for another 1,000years.
WeatBright Side wanted toknow whether our future isdoomed orbright, and sowecompiled the most exciting predictions for anew millennium.
9. Humans will live for 1,000years.
Billionaires are already investing millions ofdollars into research onslowing orstopping aging completely. In1,000years, medical engineers could design remedies for each component that causes tissues toage. Gene editing tools are already here, which could potentially control our genes and make humans immune todisease.
8. Humans will move toanother planet.
In1,000 years from now, the only way for humanity tosurvive might betoestablish new settlements inspace. SpaceX has amission to"enable humans tobecome aspacefaring civilization and amulti-planet species bybuilding aself-sustaining city onMars." The founder ofthe company, Elon Musk, hopes tohave the first launch oftheir spacecraft by2022, with 4flying toMars by2024.
7. Wewill all look the same.
Inhis speculative thought experiment, Dr. Kwan hypothesized that inthe distant future (more than 100,000 years from now) humans will develop alarger forehead, larger nostrils, larger eyes, and more pigmented skin. Scientists are already working onways toedit genomes sothat parents can choose the way their children will look.
6. There will besuper-fast intelligent computers.
In2014, asupercomputer carried out the most accurate simulation ofthe human brain todate. In1,000 years from now, computers are predicted tomatch and overtake the computational speed ofthe human brain and solve tasks that take anormal computer adecade tosolve.
Inthe new century, quantum computers will behelpful indeveloping more effective drugs and diagnoses, enhancing space exploration, and helping automobiles drive themselves. Atthe same time, quantum computing might pose areal threat toprivacy and information security.
5. Humans will become cyborgs.
Machines can already enhance human hearing and eyesight. Scientists and engineers are developing bionic eyes tohelp blind people see. In1,000 years from now, merging with technology might bethe only way for humanity tocompete with Artificial Intelligence.
Merging human minds with computers would create asuperbrain that could perform complex equations and search the internet just bythinking.
4. Mass extinction isonthe way.
The last mass extinction wiped out the dinosaurs from the face ofEarth. Arecent study revealed that the rate ofextinction for species inthe 20th century has been upto100 times higher than would have been normal without human impact. According tosome scientists, only the gradual shrinkage ofthe human population can help civilization topersist.
3. Wewill all speak the same global language.
The major factor that ismost likely tolead toauniversal language isthe streamlining oflanguages. Linguists predict that 100 years from now90% oflanguages will disappear due tomigration, and those that remain will become simplified. ATower ofBabel scenario still seems unlikely though.
2. Buildings will assemble and disassemble oncommand.
Inthe future, humans are likely tobeable tocreate avirtual world around them, using the concept ofutility fog. The utility fog idea was introduced byDr. Hall and represents apolymorphic material comprised oftrillions ofinterlinked microscopic "robots" that can essentially create any shape.
1. Nanotechnology will solve the energy and pollution crisis.
1,000 years from now, nanotechnology will beable toclean upenvironmental damage, purify water and air, and capture the energy ofthe Sun. New materials will answer the need for new environmentally friendly and more efficient energy storage technology.
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