Envision 2118: What will become reality that is not possible today?

This is my essay for the Mindfire Mission-1 Application, Davos 2018 - Switzerland (https://mindfire.global/)

In 2118, 99.9% of the Brain Code will have been cracked thank to Neurosciences and Quantum Computing. It will appear that Human Brain and Universe are both governed by a limited set of Laws. This paradigm shift will allow humans to develop sophisticated technological and artificial intelligence (AI) tools by mimicking brain functions and it will turn out that Ray Kurzweil was actually right when describing « The Law of Acceleration Returns » in his 1999 book The Age of Spiritual Machine. He envisions a technological progress at an exponential rate never seen before. Every aspect of life will be transformed and many things that were not possible in 2018 will become reality…

Average Lifespan in 2118 will be 135 years, exceeding by far the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs prediction in their 2004 World Populations Report.

People will wear a digital headset at night, which uses electromagnetic pulse to accelerate recovery, transfers knowledge and modulates specific brain areas to tackle disorders such as anxiety and depression. In some countries, the device is even programmed to access a fraction of the brain computational power to solve global challenges such as energetic and healthcare issues.

And this is how the typical day of Ava, 27 years old, Tech Ambassador of Switzerland in Tel Aviv could look like in 2118:

Every morning Ava wakes up and rushes into her bathroom where she brushes her teeth while the toothbrush analyses her saliva, the mirror scans her face assessing her mood and displays selected information about the weather and relevant news. The digital toilet that analyses her stool and urine (and converts them into energy) can detect a large range of disorders and so does her shower by high resolution whole body scanning.

This continuous stream of Ava’s data is processed and used by the kitchen robot to make tailored meals based on her taste and biological needs. Her Housekeeper robot takes care of all chores from cleaning, online shopping to ironing and folding clothes, and every household waste is converted into energy.

Ava is a Tech Ambassador, a crucial diplomatic position in the 22nd Century.

Major Tech companies became more powerful than countries, influencing global politics and humans everyday life. The First country to nominate a Tech Ambassador was Denmark in August 2017 by asking Mr Casper Klynge to represent its interests in Palo Alto, California.

Ava recently installed behind her ear a small patch, which acts as a personal assistant that communicates directly with her through digital thoughts.

This AI tool has become Ava’s best friend and mentor providing her with savvy advices regarding what she should wear to more abstract questions such as the meaning of life.

In the early 22nd century, Maverick scientists cracked the Code of Religions and unveiled the underlying rules that make any religion exist and guide people. They translated the fundamental vectors common to all beliefs; which resulted in a world cohesion never seen before.

In 2118, human relations are dramatically different and marriage has almost disappeared. The fertility rate got down to less than 1 child per woman. Fearing population decline, governments offer strong financial rewards for childbearing.

The work duties in 2118 are completely transformed by AI. A Universal Basic Income appeared as a consequence of the automation of approximately 70% of jobs.

All the operational tasks are fully automated and humans focus on quality control in sensitive industries, creativity and innovation. The typical day of work lasts less than 5 hours, the productivity is high and the benefits are fairly distributed amongst people fostering social peace and a better quality of life.

Back to Ava, after her breakfast, she takes the closest Hyperloop train, a high-speed vacuum tube train, to go working in Frankfurt. The commute lasts less than 20 minutes during which she takes her first meeting by holographic videoconference.

In 2118 all the trips shorter than 2500km are made by Hyperloop at an average speed of 1500kph. For distances above, travels are done by hypersonic airplanes taking you from New York to Zurich in less than 45 minutes. For city transportation, autonomous self-driving cars are the norm.

Hyperloop was imagined by the famous entrepreneur Elon Musk who is now 147 years old and is a great example of a Technology Augmented Human; his vision and intellectual ability has been enhanced 10-fold by a brain-implanted device.

Since the mid-21th century, travels to Mars are possible and many extraterrestrial colonies have been established; Humanity is now a multiplanetary species trying to make Mars and other planet habitable.

Humanity progresses came also with a new kind of criminality; the Mind Hackers are criminals who use the digital headset to access your brain during sleep, steel crucial information and who could also control your behavior.

AI remains a major fear for humans. General and self-sustainable AI systems could enslave and destroy Humanity. The UN Security Council for AI was created in the middle of the 21th Century to control this risk.

All these disrupting advancements where accelerated by the cracking of the Brain Code. Still, 0.1 % of the Brain Code has not yet been cracked.

Every night, Ava puts on her headset and allows the Brain Code Initiative to use a fraction of her brain computational power to crack the remaining 0.1%, which could unveil the deepest secrets of human nature, his Soul.