Life in the 2050s – immortal bodies, robot servants, increased wealth

By Dick Pelletier

     Imagine living in a powerful, healthy body without fear of unwanted death, in a world with humanoid robots responding to our every need, and in a life filled with abundance and prosperity, free from financial worries.

     Though these scenarios may seem too futuristic to happen in just 43 to 53 years, experts believe that exponentially-advancing technologies could indeed make this amazing future possible by the 2050s.

     Author Ray Kurzweil, in The Singularity is Near details how our bodies will evolve. Today’s frail human body, “version 1.0”, has a high failure rate (more than 50 million people died last year). Biotech and nanotech advances predicted for the next two decades promise a more durable “version 2.0” that will become immune to many diseases, including aging.

     “This brings us to “version 3.0”, a remarkable body boasting a zero failure rate,” Kurzweil says. Even if a destructive accident were to occur, molecular nanotech and quantum computing – expected by mid-century or before – could construct a new body with simulated programming of the patient’s lifetime of mind activities and memories, allowing life to continue.

     From R2D2 and C3PO to HAL, the Terminator and Data, robots have captured our fantasies and dreams. Since the first time we saw a toaster pop up by itself, we’ve casually accepted that machines can do things for us. Today, we all but rely on them to record shows, cook food, play music, and clean floors.

     “Within 10 years,” says roboticist Joanne Pransky, “I hope to purchase a robot that not only performs household cleaning and prepares and serves meals, but could carry me to the bathtub if I can’t walk, monitor my vital signs, and if I need a medical specialist from afar, could remotely become his or her eyes, hands, and ears.”

     “Aging populations and a shrinking workforce are fast-forwarding this technology,” says Rodney Brooks, inventor of I-Robot vacuum cleaners, which use artificial intelligence to detect dirt and avoid walls while automatically cleaning floors. Robots excel in many applications that humans consider boring.

     But if robots do all the work, what will humans do? BT’s futurist, Ian Pearson says no problem – “Robots will shift humanity from an information market to a “care” economy, dominated by interpersonal and emotional skills where human contact is essential.”

     However, if humans are idle, where will their money come from? Futurist Hans Moravec offers one radical solution: Lower Social Security age requirements until everyone receives an adequate income throughout their life, then tax the tax fully-automated businesses operated by robots to pay all necessary government expenses.

     Commanded by thoughts, future robots will travel to anywhere in the world, enabling us to interact through their eyes and sensors – to shop, explore, and create exciting encounters. Today, technology brings the world to us, with our phones, radio, television, and Internet; in the 2050s, robots will take us to the world – everywhere, anytime – and at the speed of thought.

     The 2050s promise to change forever the ways we relate to each other; even our view of what constitutes life will be challenged as technology carries us to the edge of immortality. Will this amazing “magical future” become reality? Positive futurists believe that it will!

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