Life in 2057
Posted on October 30, 2017 • 4 min read • 771 words
From 9 to 12 February 2016 the Integrated Systems Europe in Amsterdam . ISE is one of the largest, if not the largest, exhibition in the field of digital billboards, smart buildings and AV/audio.
The closing keynote was provided by Dr. Michio Kaku . In addition to being a theoretical physicist, Dr. Michio Kaku is a futurist. He is concerned with what living, living, working and traveling could be like in the future. He suggested an interesting future for this.
Predicting the future is not easy. Sometimes developments move faster than expected. I don’t think anyone could have predicted that the computer network that was intended for sharing each other’s devices would evolve into the internet as we know it now and that this would permanently change the music industry. On the other hand, flying cars are still not commonplace.
The video below, 2057 – The Body, paints a picture of life in 2057. For example, what will healthcare look like in 2057? Watch the video and judge for yourself.
If you found this video interesting, be sure to watch parts 2 ( The City ) and 3 ( The World ) of life in 2057.
What can we do now?
We can already do a lot. Many people already run with some form of smartwatch or fitness watch that keeps track of how much you walk per day, what your heart rate is during the day and, supplemented with a smartphone and tools, the smart watch can even determine the insulin level in your blood.
In the future we will use self-driving cars. That is not so far in the future, as brands such as Tesla, BMW and Google are already busy with self-driving cars. In 2013, Minister Melanie Schultz already expected that within twenty years all cars on Dutch roads will be self-driving .
We can communicate with everyone, even if they speak a different language. In combination with smart glasses or contact lenses, we can understand the other person through the subtitles while talking to other people.
We can already print body parts and organs . We can already make clothing that generates energy and garments that can monitor your health .
What are the negative sides?
Of course, the technology provides a lot of advantages, but we should absolutely not ignore the dangers of always being watched, measured and screened. Automating all kinds of human activities, which currently still exist, also poses challenges. I still see some negative sides to the developments. When it is known always and everywhere where we are, what we do, who we see, what our blood pressure and heart rate is, whether we have exercised enough, etc., the question of whether we still have privacy is redundant, since everything is known about everyone. We hereby place our full trust in the parties that do something with that data.
An example:
If our sports shoes report to the insurance company that you have not been running for a while, your insurance premium could well increase. The same applies to your eating and drinking habits. If your smart glasses have recorded that you have met someone who does not follow the law very closely, you may also be put on a list so that you are monitored extra, or it may suddenly no longer be possible to take out insurance.
We are being automated away
This part was not really included in Dr. Michio Kaku’s speech, but I think it will become a problem in the future, namely the automation of all kinds of functions and tasks by computer systems and robots.
We can already automate many tasks that can be performed based on a set of agreements or workflow. It does not matter whether these are administrative tasks or, for example, loan assessments. The same applies to mechanical tasks. Robots can take over many of these actions from humans.
This will cause many of our current administrative and mechanical jobs to disappear. Of course, jobs do come back, but they often require different skills, which means that the people who are automated away often cannot get a new job.
Want to know more?
On the site of Dr. Michi Kaku contains more interesting videos and articles.
Dr.’s speech Michio Kaku is also very interesting. He discusses a number of interesting themes, such as ‘Knowing everything is great, but should we want to know everything?’.
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Now you
Michio Kaku predicts a number of interesting developments. The predictions he makes also have quite a dark side. How do you view this? How do you see life in 2057?
