[OT] Your visions of the future.

[Ward]

-Will we colonise the solar system? When?
o Yes. We will. There are lots of reasons why. Computer controlled mining stations and factories producing materials . Ships will be cheaper to build and run. New opportunities for commerce, military, research. The people will realise that we can live much more comfortably. Why should we want to colonize the system? Because our curiosity, greed and will to own are endless. I believe this is near future(20-100 years from now).

-Will we ever travel beyond this solar system? When? How? How far?
o Yes we will. Nowadays theories propose many ways how to accomplish it. The most important thing is how long is the voyage going to take. Research done in space will stimulate new theories. People born in a world where you can travel in space will have different views of world. New theories. New dangers.

-How long will humanity survive? Will we evolve into something else, be wiped out by war/ catastrophe or have we reached the point where we can overcome or avoid anything nature can throw at us?
o Here we come very close to the question of existence(or non-existence) of other life in the universe. For now I will omit it. We will master biology and nanotechnology. The difference between humans and machines will become more and more insignificant. Yesterday's curiosity becomes today's common thing. There is always a danger that we have to overcome and this will never change. So yes we will evolve into something diametrally different from the humans as we us. Given time, nothing can endanger us except ourselves.

-Will civilisation continue on its path or are we headed for a catastrophe and a new dark age?
o This is a race between curiosity and greed. We can only hope. My personal oppinion is that the curiosity will tightly win and the humankind will survive.

-Will we meet intelligent ETs? Will they come here or will we have to go to them? How will we get on with them?
o I believe they had come, seen and left. :-) Someone will surely open dicussion on this topic but I don't want to be that person. :-)

-Will we achieve AI? When? What will be the ramifications for humanity? Will we all become cyborgs?
o In a way we will become cyborgs. But we will not be the clumsy machines. Opposite is true. Does transplantation of a grown heart make you a cyborg? Does a transplantation of artificially created(disease reasistant, more endurance...) heart make you one? Where is the difference? You can easily call someone a cyborg when half of his body is metal, wires and batteries. But can you call someone a cyborg when you just encourage his natural regenerative ability or when you give him other organic replacement/enhancement. I believe the only way out of here will be a definition that cyborg is everyone who has an altered body (the result is different from natural dispozitions).

-What about genetics? Will future generations of humans be improved (or maybe "improved") by gene-tweaking? Will people accept this?
o See above. People will have to accept it.

-What about neural technology? Will our great-grandchildren have computers embedded in their brains and direct mental access to everyone else?
o In a way yes. I am not sure about the computer connection, but their brains will definitely work more efficiently.

-Will communications technology fundamentally change society? Will government become obselete when we're all jacked into some gigantic global network? Will we become the Borg?
o Yes the communication will change every society. No. Government is always needed. You can't make right decisions if you don't know all facts. If we ever evolove into a one-big-brain then there will probably be no need for specialized government.

-Will the usa conquer the entire world? How long before the new empire crumbles?
o No it will not. Now it is the only super-power but times change (and they often do as is their habit). New empire will be a mix of all countries(or nation). It can collapse but it will forever rise. The name and people can change but the purpose stays the same.

-What art/ literature/ individuals from today will be remembered for centuries to come?
o Hard to say. In 100 years Asimov can be admired, 50 years later resented and then again admired. It depends on attitude of people. And the attitude changes with almost every generation. The only one who I think will be remembered is Elvis(no, I am not a fanatic fan of him :-) ).

-Will humanity ever be united and war made a thing of the past, or is our tribalistic instinct too strong?
o For a time there can be peace. But there are always boundaries that make us fight. This can change with genetic manipulation but our current genetic equipment is built to fight and survive.

-Is national identity something that will come to an end or will expansion to other planets create more nations and more conflicts?
o There will always be a reason why the other are worse. How goes that saying? Curiosity becomes suspitions, suspitions become difference, difference becomes hatred. I believe this is true.

-What is the future of religion? Can it stand up to the advance of science? Will it evolve, die out or will it stay as it is?
o The religion will evolve and it will be here forever.

[Askan Nightbringer]

Originally posted by dogscoff:
Thanks for the downer Askan.

I think my problem at the moment is that I'm in the process of sobering up, and the fact is 2:45am here and I'm expected at work before 9 tomorrow means I'll have to post more of my delightful tidbits on the future tomorrow

Askan

[Andrés]

-Will we colonise the solar system? When?
Eventually but we're still centuries away.

-Will we ever travel beyond this solar system? When? How? How far?
Once we colonize the solar system and space travel becomes an everyday business, it's only a matter of time until we venture farther.

-How long will humanity survive? Will we evolve into something else, be wiped out by war/ catastrophe or have we reached the point where we can overcome or avoid anything nature can throw at us?

Humans are very resourceful and can manage to survive under extreme conditions.
I bet that we would survive a disaster such as the one that killed the dinosaurs.

Humans do no longer follow the laws of natural selection, so we cannot evolve in a Darwinian sense. But in a broader sense of evolution, humanity as a whole will keep evolving, in a social and other ways.

-Will civilisation continue on its path or are we headed for a catastrophe and a new dark age?

Not a dark age as in the middle ages but there will all ups and downs in civilization.

-Will we meet intelligent ETs? Will they come here or will we have to go to them? How will we get on with them?

If we'll eventually travel beyond our solar system, and if there are aliens out there that may do the same (some of them could have started millons of years ago). So I believe it's a matter of time until we eventually meet each other.

-Will we achieve AI? When? What will be the ramifications for humanity? Will we all become cyborgs?

I don't know if computers will ever be a completely sentient, but soon they'll be able to mimic humans better and interact with us in a more natural way.
There will be a time when a computer will be able to answer questions like these ones without the need copying the answers from a database but elaborating by itself an answer based in its stored knowledge. Will that be AI?

First cybernetics will be more advanced Versions of current prosthetics.
Progress will be very slow. Do the gasses I'm wearing to improve my poor eyesight make me a cyborg?
It will be a very long time until technology can effectively replace most body parts with something that is as good. And even longer until someone decides to chop off his arm to replace it with a cybernetic one.

-What about genetics? Will future generations of humans be improved (or maybe "improved") by gene-tweaking? Will people accept this?

It will happen. Though current knowledge of genetics is not as good as some believe, someday it will be possible. Once something is possible and proven reliable it will have to be accepted.

-What about neural technology? Will our great-grandchildren have computers embedded in their brains and direct mental access to everyone else?

We will eventually blend our brains with computers. We may be able to send a mental email to someone else, but that will not eliminate our individuality.

-Will communications technology fundamentally change society? Will government become obselete when we're all jacked into some gigantic global network? Will we become the Borg?

Communications are already changing the world.
There will always be the need of a set of rules and somekind of government to encourage them.
Individual minds will never blend into a borg-like collective consciousness.

-Will the usa conquer the entire world? How long before the new empire crumbles?

No. Every empire that has risen in the past has fallen, the USA will be no different.
If they don't revise their policies right now, we're not that far from a WW3 with the USA against the rest of the world.

-What art/ literature/ individuals from today will be remembered for centuries to come?

Some art and literature of centuries ago is remembered and preserved now.
History will filter what becomes a classic and what will be forgotten.

-Will humanity ever be united and war made a thing of the past, or is our tribalistic instinct too strong?

It may never happen, but we must keep trying.

-Is national identity something that will come to an end or will expansion to other planets create more nations and more conflicts?

We have people from all over the world posting in these forums.
Communications will be better and soon many of our work mates and even close friends may be people living in other countries. Frontiers are already blending.
Interstellar communication may be an obstacle, but it will be eventually overcome.

-What is the future of religion? Can it stand up to the advance of science? Will it evolve, die out or will it stay as it is?

Religion has been constantly evolving to coexist with evolving societies and modern science.

[Guille]

I wish the future was Star Wars, but I see 2 different futures:

Future 1:

We'll die, killed by ourselves, our hate, the desire of power, experiments and wars.
May be we'll travel and colonize the Solar System, mine asteroids for minerals , but not for a long time.
The Earth will be reduced to dust.
If ET intelligent life will come to see us, they'll run away from such a terrible, lammer, violent, murder... life form, the humans.
Genetic modifications will be made to create... I don't want to think about it.

Future 2:
Genetic manipulations will make us more intelligent, so the majority of us will forget the wars, the differences between us, and (in my opinion) the religions.
We'll travel through the Solar System, colonize some planets and terraform them like Mars, for explore, mineral, organic and radioactives mining, house more population, and just for pleasure.
I don't know if green men will visit us, but I think they already do it (I mean watching us), and we don´t notice it.
All the nations will become a big and strong one.
About the cyborgs, may be, but like they are now. For a high performanced workers and/or guards, we'll use robots, or even Jedi .

[geoschmo]

In the future I will be getting off work for the evening. Assuming I am fortunate and pay attention to my driving I will get home shortly thereafter. Indications are I will have dinner at some point after that. Later in the eveneing sometime I expect I will be going to bed. Beyond that things get a little cloudy and I will have to play it by ear.

-Will the usa conquer the entire world? I certainly hope not. Neither I or the vast majority of my countrymen have any desire to conquer the world. I seriously doubt we could pull it off if we wanted to, and wouldn't know what to do with it afterwards if we could.

[TerranC]

-Will we colonise the solar system? When?

We'll colonize the solar system soon enough; although I doubt most of them will fit the expectation of a colony. They'll be more like the Antartic research stations, with the exception of the Moon, which would be a big research station

-Will we ever travel beyond this solar system? When? How? How far?

Anytime soon? Doubt it, very much. Maybe in the next millenium. How? Maybe our grandsons and granddaughters will hear about it when they turn 75. How far? If we find a viable way, as far as we can.

-How long will humanity survive? Will we evolve into something else, be wiped out by war/ catastrophe or have we reached the point where we can overcome or avoid anything nature can throw at us?

Despite the news we hear, I think a good portion of the world is level-minded for us to be wiped out by war. If we do get wiped out, it will be because of disparities in living standards. As for that second part, I think nature will find new ways to challenge humanity; if not on earth, in space.

-Will civilisation continue on its path or are we headed for a catastrophe and a new dark age?

Civilisation will continue on, as it had for many years before.

-Will we meet intelligent ETs? Will they come here or will we have to go to them? How will we get on with them?

Only a matter of time. How will we get along with them? That won't be up to us.

-Will we achieve AI? When? What will be the ramifications for humanity? Will we all become cyborgs?

We'll achieve AI a lot sooner than we can achieve FTL engines, that's for sure. I don't know about the details, but if we do create AI, We'll have new truckloads of social problems that will have to be solved over time. Now, about being cyborgs, that's really up to a person's choice. People who are blind, deaf, mute, crippled, or mentally disabled won't mind cybernetic implants and parts which will make them normal or 90% normal again, but normal people will abhor the idea of having a limb cut off and having it replaced with a machine.

-What about genetics? Will future generations of humans be improved (or maybe "improved") by gene-tweaking? Will people accept this?

Gene therapy could go two ways IMHO - On one side, it could become like abortions, and on the other, it could become like pLastic surgery. It really depends on the cases in the near future.

-What about neural technology? Will our great-grandchildren have computers embedded in their brains and direct mental access to everyone else?

I don't see any conventional pros in neural technology. I'm against it, except for medical purposes. The potential for damage is to big IMHO; a neural virus could put people into comas, seizures, and even brain death, in a matter of seconds, and it could spread faster than the internet, since you'd only need to think in order to transmit.

-Will communications technology fundamentally change society? Will government become obselete when we're all jacked into some gigantic global network? Will we become the Borg?

The internet has already changed the world in ways unforeseen, and it keeps changing how the world thinks. What makes you think it will stop changing? Although Governments will exists as long as civilization exists, even if total democracy is achieved. Why? 2 reasons: People will be too busy to vote on every resolutions and bills, or people just won't care.

-Will the usa conquer the entire world? How long before the new empire crumbles?

The USA will never conquer the entire world: it doesn't want to, and if it does, the rest of the world won't want to speak "American".

-What art/ literature/ individuals from today will be remembered for centuries to come?

Important media icons, such as Lord of the Rings, Titanic, Pokemon, and Harry Potter.

-Will humanity ever be united and war made a thing of the past, or is our tribalistic instinct too strong?

Wars between countries, where it kills millions and millions of people in matters of minutes? Yes, I think that we will be eventually be horrified by the idea that we will all be killed by a button, and work together to build peace. But wars as in domestic issues? No. There will never be a state where everything is solved and everything is known and everything is perfect.

-Is national identity something that will come to an end or will expansion to other planets create more nations and more conflicts?

No. Never. As long as history exists, National Identity will never go away. But the ugly parts of national identities will fade away, as long as people respect each other. And of course more national identities will spring up soon enough. To say that it won't and we will all see ourselves only human is ridiculous, IMHO, and unrealistic. I will most certainly see myself as something else after I grow up under a green sun, see Carbon Dioxide Ice caps, and breath that thick oxygen/nitrogen/argon atmosphere.

-What is the future of religion? Can it stand up to the advance of science? Will it evolve, die out or will it stay as it is?

It'll most certainly evolve; maybe perhaps we'll worship unified field theories as god itself, just as the greeks did once, with their pythagorean theorems.

There goes my two cents...

[Cyrien]

-Will we colonise the solar system? When?
-Will we ever travel beyond this solar system? When? How? How far?

Eventually for both. As to when. The technology to do it exists even now, but at great expense. I don't see people going out there for awhile as it would be too expensive. How long exactly? I don't know. Sometime between now and later.

-How long will humanity survive? Will we evolve into something else, be wiped out by war/ catastrophe or have we reached the point where we can overcome or avoid anything nature can throw at us?

Three main options here.
First we kill ourselves off in the immediate future. If this does happen it will most likely be the result of some unforseen accident or a super madman/terrorist getting their hands on something really nasty and killing us all either by design(I'll take all those bastards with me!) or accident (this super disease will wipe out all the Americans!! And then the rest of the world... oopsie.) I doubt it would be something like nuclear war as we can all see it coming and take action to prevent it. It is generally that which you don't see coming that gets you. I don't favor this option. It would have to kill us all very fast without any room for even trying to think of escape. Technology has reached a point where if species survival depended on it we could most likely come up with something. Barring the Xi'Chung or Borg or some other massive super advanced alien force. This isn't the movies folks. Kiss your heinies good bye.

Next we colonize this system or at least parts of it but develop still stronger stuff to kill each other and once again wipe ourselves out in some unexpected way. Still don't favor this one, as would have to be power mad crazy people or someone with more power than brains (wait... *looks at current world leaders* maybe this just raised in potential possibility.)

Last we colonize the system do expand to other systems, and failing some massive galaxy or universe shattering event or super massive super more advanced than us genocidal species coming along, we survive potentially forever spreading throughout the universe like some super infestation of organic life.

-Will civilisation continue on its path or are we headed for a catastrophe and a new dark age?

Dark age? That is possible. But that would still only delay progress. In the past the societies were so seperated that dark ages only affected one part but not all and so some of what one had learned could be preserved by those that didn't fall (see Europe and Arabia, similiar interactions can be seen in most of the world.) Today it would be worse a Dark age would entail the complete collapse of most if not all of global civilization and would most likely require nuclear warfare or massive biological outbreaks, perhaps some earthshattering natural calamity.

A dark age though would really only be a delay in progress not a stopage.

-Will we meet intelligent ETs? Will they come here or will we have to go to them? How will we get on with them?

Assuming our survival and either A> an infinite or close enough to not matter universe B> the existence of ETs
then yes, eventually.
Maybe they are already here, maybe not. I am as of yet undecided. But if not already here they had better hurry up or we will wind up going to them.

-Will we achieve AI? When? What will be the ramifications for humanity? Will we all become cyborgs?

Don't know for AI. Probably eventually. Ramifications? Who could say in the 1700's what the ramifications of the internet and a network of instant communication across the world would be? Do we as of yet understand them?

Cyborgs for me follow the path of we are not united so some will say yes and accept and others will scream no and run around like chickens with their heads cut off.

One of them will be right and go on and the other wrong. I tend to think the cyborgs will win out in the end. Having a synthetic heart doesn't make you any less human. So why should having a calculator in your brain that helps you do math faster? Possibly some consequences that can't be forseen. Maybe it messes with the brain? We can't say. We don't know enough about electronics let alone the human brain to be guessing on mind machine interface. As to arms and the like. We already have stuff like that. Will be people with tons of it be looked at differently. Probably, I mean some of us look at each other differently because of skin/eye/hair color. Will life go on for those with it? Yes. How about people who cut off the nature arm for the artificial? How about people who have ugly teeth removed to get better looking false teeth or eye color changing contacts? I think that eventually based on human aesthetics you won't even be able to tell a person has a cybernetic enhancement. Early on, maybe.

If we expand into space there will be plenty of room for both points of view and most likely both will go on seperate and not equal but present if maybe distant.

-What about genetics? Will future generations of humans be improved (or maybe "improved") by gene-tweaking? Will people accept this?

See cybernetics above.

-What about neural technology? Will our great-grandchildren have computers embedded in their brains and direct mental access to everyone else?

See cybernetics above.
As for

-Will communications technology fundamentally change society? Will government become obselete when we're all jacked into some gigantic global network? Will we become the Borg?

No. It hasn't changed our society yet so it won't ever! Err wait... it already has massively changed society! AHHHH!!! Changes in the way we communicate and the speed and distances at which we can communicate ALWAYS necessitate changes in society. The future will be no different.

The need for people to organzie themselves so that they can point at others and say "It is your fault you are in charge" and others to take power just to have it will probably always be around. Communications technology won't change the people just how fast they communicate and interact. People are still people.

The whole borg brain hive mind thing is overdone. A single entity thinking brain. I think we as people are fascinated with this because we always want to know what others are thinking and a hive mind always does ANMD gets along! HAH! How well does your single mind get along with itself? If we all hooked up wouldn't like thinking minds hook themselves up and then not want to mix their great big brain with that nasty ugly big brain over there? Or maybe one mind dominates the others and takes control... wouldn't all the others fight back? And if the universe is so big couldn't that be possible? If the one person has access to all the knowledge and memories of the others wouldn't that change them into a conglomeration of all thus all cease and only one exists!

Who can say? It has not happened as of yet. Based on human individuality I doubt it will. People may like to group and follow the crowd but that doesn't mean they want to BE the crowd.

-Will the usa conquer the entire world? How long before the new empire crumbles?

No. The USA has neither the desire nor the resources or manpower ot conquer the world. That being the case question two has no relevance.

-What art/ literature/ individuals from today will be remembered for centuries to come?

I won't even pretend to guess. I study history. It is amazing some of the things that were ridiculed in their own time that became great classics later and what everyone knew would be a great classic back then but now no one even knows the name of.

-Will humanity ever be united and war made a thing of the past, or is our tribalistic instinct too strong?

No. Disparate and seperate beings that CAN'T feel what others feel and understand and know each others deepest thoughts and are limited to verbal, written, and expressive (facial, etc) forms of communications can never truly understand each other. Even if we did understand each other could we agree on everything to such an extent that we can compromise on everything? How do black people compromise with Neo-Nazis? Kill themselves?
Conflict is fundamental to advancement. There is no single life form that doesn't conflict. Yes even ants and bees. Just think about it. When was the Last time two bee or ant hives fought? One thought one way and the other another. We form our own "hives" of similiar thought. I don't think that will change. Different experiences and genetics make different people.

Maybe if the borg thing comes around. But I don't put much faith in the borg thing either sooo...

-Is national identity something that will come to an end or will expansion to other planets create more nations and more conflicts?

See Above. National identity remains but as we expand and grow so does it. Look at North America. Slowl moving from US, Canada, and Mexico to closer Groups. Look at Europe with the EU. Other organizations that slowly bind themselves together abound. Eventually the nations we have today will probably only be parts of greater nations of the future, but that won't stop people from identifing with who they are based on where they are from. Sol, Earth, North America, USA, State of Texas, El Paso - Antares, New Earth, Suthron, Alpso Province, Divine... you group the importance as people always do... some with greater layers of religions, ethnicity, poitical beliefs, etc... it gets really complicated. But national divisions will remain as well as all the other divisions we have, though with constant changes.

See previous for conflict.

-What is the future of religion? Can it stand up to the advance of science? Will it evolve, die out or will it stay as it is?

Religion isn't based on fact or anything like that. It is based on pure unreasoning faith and the NEED to believe in something more. It has survived since probably the beginning of sentient thought and maybe earlier. Is evolutionary theory any less of a religion than creationism? It is a theory and thus not a given. Doesn't that take some faith? Doesn't everything take a little?

Religion hasn't kept itself alive despite the odds and the evidence. The people have kept religion alive despite all odds and evidence.