Today’s realities that will sound wrong to my great-grandchildren
History is full of unquestionable beliefs that seem silly today
“I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races.” — Abraham Lincoln
History is full of horrible quotes from intelligent people. What was considered natural or unquestionable a few hundred years ago is inconceivable today. Think about slavery. It is true for ethics but also for science or societal issues. And it is great! It means society as a whole evolves.
Knowing this also gives us, as individuals, a great opportunity. We can ask ourselves today what will seem right to the future generations and act accordingly. This is the main goal of future studies: helping us take action today as if it were tomorrow. Because you don’t want to see incomprehension, or worst disgust, in the eyes of your great-grandchildren when they will learn about your life.
The main goal of future studies is to help us take action today as if it were tomorrow
These are today’s realities that I believe will seem wrong before the end of this century, in a more or less chronological order. Things won’t change in one day, and most of them will trigger strong resistance. But I try to act now according to my believes for the future. Let’s open the debate!
- People are binary
Today, you are either a man or a woman, straight or gay, black or white, and the list goes on. We define most traits as binary (or as discret to be more precise). But they are not. Human traits are spectrums, they are continuous. Fufture generations will have no problem with mixed identities.
- Discrimination is a thing
Discrimination is wrong. We (almost) all agree. But it is still a thing. Not for long though. Being aware that everybody has a mixed identity will help. Once you accept that people are not binary, discrimination looks even more stupid than today.
- Polluting is free
At some point, environmental issues will be too costly and painful. We won’t have the choice but to take into account the external costs of pollution in prices. Polluting will soon become so expensive that the shift to cleaner products and production methods will be fast. Polluting will seem totally wrong to future generations.
- You need a proper job to deserve an income
Today, if you don’t have a job, you are described as lazy and a burden for society. This is not fair nor sustainable.
It removes the distinction between work and job. You can bring a lot to society through domestic or voluntary work without having a job. Moreover, being a hard worker is not the first quality of a human being. Kindness, creativity or generosity are much more valuable. Finally, automation will make full employment unreachable while bringing prosperity.
Universal basic income will give people the freedom to choose the path they want. It will bring art and originality back to our lives. We will realize that everybody deserves the right to live decently, just by existing. As a consequence, poverty won’t be a thing anymore.
- I have a boss in my workplace
Democratic countries as the norm (not the exception) is a really new concept. The course of history is to see democracy becoming the default governance system in more and more places. The next frontier is the company. Universal basic income will give much more bargaining power to employees. They will demand separation of powers in the workplace, to elect their directors and to be the owners of the company where they work. The next model will be small cooperatives.
- Humans are the only intelligent species on earth
Artificial intelligence will hurt our ego a lot. It will make us realize we are pretty dumb. Algorithms will soon have civil and property rights. Humans will merge with artificial intelligence. We will need to rethink what it means to be human and what is our role as a species. It will also challenge most existing social structures.
Let’s hope it won’t mean the end of humanity.
- It is OK to eat meat
Co-existing with an artificial intelligence will also make us think about other species. We will finally accept that animals are conscious, feel pain and deserve respect. Eating meat will soon become as barbarous as slavery today.
- Religions are a thing
Artificial intelligence will hurt religions really bad. Imagine! There will be in the world something more powerful than God in monotheist religions! How do you think religions will react to that? This will first create strong resistance and wars. A new religion will appear that deify artificial intelligence. In the end, religions will progressively lose their power and people will stop believing in God.
On the other side, spirituality will remain strong and probably merge with philosophy, as we will even have more “Why” questions to answer.
- Countries are a thing
Countries are already the worst level of governance possible. It is too small to meet global challenges (climate change, AI control, poverty, etc.) and too big to tackle the daily problems of people. Unfortunately, it is today the strongest level of governance. The consequences are wars (military and economics) and a total lack of cooperation.
Soon, our global challenges will be so strong that it won’t be sustainable anymore. It won’t be without violence. But countries will disappear to let place to 2 strong levels of governance: global and local.
You probably don’t agree with me! And it is great! Don’t follow my vision of the future. Build your own expectations and act accordingly. Never do something because it is the norm today but do what you think will be right tomorrow. Your great-grandchildren will be proud of you!
