The 2040s: Artificial Intelligence transforms humanity

By Dick Pelletier

      

    After being spoiled during the 2030s with disease-free bodies, thought-talking, and android robots satisfying our every whim; we wondered if life could ever get better. And it has.

    In the 2040s, millions of robots, self-constructed without human assistance and enhanced with quantum computer-like minds have developed incredible levels of intelligence; and with wireless brain-machine interface systems, this new intelligence is moving into human brains enabling solutions to nearly all of the world’s problems.

    Nations around the globe are improving security and economies by joining a world community that encourages diversity in cultures, which is greatly reducing the gap between Islam and the West. Delegates from the US, EU, China, and India set group values and behavior standards.

    Death and fertility rates have dropped drastically over the last several decades. In fact, life-extension enthusiasts predict that mind-transfer technologies and cloning advances will soon make death preventable. And bringing new babies in the world to continue family lines has become less desirable, as most people now anticipate a life expectancy measured in millenniums, not years.

    Scientists have erased world food shortage with nanobots that deliver nutrients direct to cells, providing the exact energy required for perfect health. Both nutrients and 'bots are produced by nano-replicators and provided free.

    But replacing food with nutrient pills has not been accepted easily, so scientists created an 'artificial stomach' that receives real food but doesn't allow that food to enter the body. Instead, nanobots convert this food and deposit it into a nutrient belt for disposal. Food connoisseurs can now scarf down anything their hearts desire and never gain a pound.

    The plight of females has greatly improved. At the beginning of this century, women accounted for over 40% of the world's workforce but earned only 25% of the global income. But now in the 2040s, females receive higher salaries than men and they occupy the majority of government positions. And the Chinese policy of aborting female fetuses and Islam’s discrimination against females has also ended. Women are now considered equal to men in every country.

    Homes will not look sci-fi in 2040, because most people still enjoy living in houses, not futuristic pods. But tomorrow's residences will include biomaterials imbedded in ceilings, walls and floors that kill harmful microorganisms, provide pleasant odors, and make us feel cozy and secure.

    Our always-on holographic TV streams live feeds from friends and relatives and delivers entertainment from the "global brain" Internet. We can experience programs the old fashioned way through eyes and ears, or for easier comprehension, allow signals directly into our mind, bypassing the need for a display screen.

    Every home has a driverless skycar in the garage. Backing out the driveway, the vehicle rises silently into the sky and glides effortlessly to our destination. A NASA Quantum-Computerized Positioning System acts as air-traffic controller to prevent collisions. For longer trips, we hop a scramjet to anywhere on Earth in an hour, or board a 2-hour hyperspace flight to the Moon Colony.

    Can these events happen in just 30-to-40 years? Although seemingly fantastic, we're now entering the greatest acceleration of change in Earth history. Positive futurists believe this "magical future" can become reality by the 2040s.

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