Forecasts of further human evolution humanitarian aspects. How will the human body change in the future. Features of innovation development

Cooling. Warming. Scientific and technical progress. How our body will change depending on possible future scenarios.

Global warming

The most possible option of the most frightening. However, not for the human body. After all, then the dream of all the beauties of the Earth will come true - to have a slender and tanned figure like that of Hollywood divas. This is because those who live in hot climates eat a lot of plants that do not contribute to fullness at all. And another banal reason is thermoregulation. Inhabitants of warm countries are thin and have elongated proportions. The thinner a person is, the easier his body cools down, slimness is just an evolutionary adaptation to a hot climate.

And people, according to anthropologists, are likely to expand their nose and lips, their jaws will increase. As with all equatorials (a wide nose and jaws allow better ventilation of the air, and plump lips allow the liquid to evaporate). Perhaps the skull will stretch out and we will get anthracite-black curls. Both allow the head to lose heat more efficiently.

glacial period

No matter how much they frighten global warming, many experts turn to their heads: they say, what are you talking about, what kind of warming, we live in an interglacial era. And by the standards of history, it dragged on for an unacceptably long time. So get your coats. And meat. And lard. That is what northern peoples eat. Eskimos, by the way, are able to capitalize 3 kg of fat per day (without having problems with cholesterol!). Are you weak?

Eating a record amount of protein and fat is responsible for the stockiness of northerners. That is, the more protein they eat, the stronger their muscles and bones develop. Therefore, if there is a total freeze, we will become low and wide (we will have developed muscles, and someone will have fat deposition). According to the principle of a samovar: the rounder, the longer the heat is retained.

And this is just the beginning. Scientists do not exclude: in the distant future, humanity can learn to ... hibernate. And what, such examples are also among our primate relatives (fat-tailed lemurs), and among the same northern peoples. With the onset of the polar night, the latter can enter their body into a state of suspended animation, when they sit around the fire and do not talk to each other for days on end.

GMO people

And this is possible. At least according to futurists. The development of technology will allow us to look the way we want. And especially the brave believe that our mortal body as such will no longer exist - only avatars, only hardcore. Gradually, parts of the body will be replaced by artificial ones, until in the end we will not turn into intelligent machines at all, and maybe even will exist only in the Internet space. And perhaps someday genetic engineering will reach a level where we ourselves will be able to choose a specific appearance and any other set of physical characteristics for our children. Fortunately, this will not happen soon. If it happens at all.

A well-fed future

According to Wells

But with the notorious scientific and technological revolution, options are possible. The future may be heaven for some and purgatory for others. Like in H.G. Wells' novel The Time Machine. “A small creature - no more than four feet tall”, “surprisingly beautiful, resembling a consumptive beauty” - this is how the father of science fiction described the first category of earthlings of the future - the Eloi who have reached the pinnacle of technological progress. And so: "Ape-like ... dirty white", "with large grayish-red eyes", "runs on all fours" - disgusting Morlocks, degraded people, returned to the level of Australopithecus.

In the future, mankind may be divided into these two "races". The latter will serve the former (after all, there may not be enough resources for everyone; in this case, someone will inevitably find themselves at the very bottom of the social, and then the evolutionary ladder). It is possible that only Morlocks or only Eloi will remain. Depends on which direction progress will take.

The well-known anthropologist Stanislav Drobyshevsky in his article “Pan or Morlock” writes: “(if humanity lives for tens of thousands of years in the bosom of a supercivilization) ... the size of the digestive system as a whole and the jaw in particular will decrease, the skull bones will become thinner, muscle tone will inevitably weaken ... interesting changes are possible: for example, fingers can lengthen and increase their mobility if success in working with a computer begins to be reflected in reproductive success.

"Morlocks" will appear in the apocalyptic scenario. Pollution of the planet will lead to increased natural selection. All the weak and sickly will die. Physical strength and endurance will again come to the fore. Humanity will start to run wild. “So far, unfortunately, everything is moving towards this scenario, and it is still very optimistic, because it implies, in principle, the survival of mankind. Sadly, we are destroying our habitat so quickly that at our leisurely rate of reproduction, we may not be fast enough to adapt to new conditions. Humanity may die out in the next couple of hundred years, ”writes Drobyshevsky.

First of all, this concerns the most civilized part of the world. Australian aborigines, wild African tribes or Amazonian Indians, most likely, will not notice anything at all. And they will become at the origins of a new humanity.

Bright future

About rudiments

Change awaits us no matter what. First of all, it concerns the sense organs. For example, vision. Constant sitting at the monitor will lead to the modification of the organs of vision. Moisturizing rarely blinking eyes with the help of increased work of the sebaceous glands will become relevant - reflex blinking will not be enough. But our sense of smell, with which everything is very sad today, will apparently disappear altogether. As unnecessary - we have nothing to smell in the environment, except for roses and perfumes. But for such "little things" evolution is not exchanged - the scent is needed to track down prey or escape from it. Everything else is “pampering”, an extra part that takes up too much space in our brain that could “go” to more important things. For example, the ability to see in the dark (in case humanity has to go underground - say, in connection with a natural disaster).

Reduced, by the way, and rudimentary organs. Such, for example, as wisdom teeth, which, according to anthropologists, will sink into oblivion in 200 years. The muscles of the ears, nose, and the last two ribs will disappear in about 2 million years. Also the toes. But the brain is likely to grow. For 1 kg. After 7 million years (anthropologists think so, based on the history of human evolution).

Globalization and constant immigration will eventually do their dirty work. I mean, swarthy. Some anthropologists are sure that in a few centuries we will all become brown-eyed mulattoes. Like the Brazilians. Blue eyes, red hair and freckles, which even today can be listed in the Red Book, may disappear altogether. By the way, in 2002, epidemiologists from the United States found that only one in six white Americans has blue eyes. And a hundred years ago, more than half of the white population of the United States had them.

Moreover, now we do it much faster than before. Over the past 10,000 years, the rate of evolution has increased 100 times, forcing our genes to mutate and selecting the most useful of these mutations. We are not the top of the evolutionary chain. At best - the middle!

We drink milk

The gene that regulates the absorption of lactose in humans has evolved in our evolution. Initially, a person could only assimilate mother's milk in infancy. However, as a result of the domestication of cows, goats, sheep and the development of cattle breeding, our body began to produce a hormone that promotes the breakdown of lactose. People with this gene had an advantage in spreading their own genes.

A 2006 study confirmed that this gene is still evolving, as it was 3,000 years ago in East Africa. The genetic mutation that promotes lactose digestion is now found in 95% of Europeans.

Many people never grow wisdom teeth.

The diet of ancient man for the most part consisted of roots, leaves and nuts. From such a diet, the teeth wore out pretty quickly. Wisdom teeth are the evolutionary answer to this problem. A kind of spare wheel, which was stored for the time being right in the mouth of our ancestors and appeared just when the other teeth had already served their purpose. It was they who did not allow the ancient man to die in his prime from starvation due to such a misunderstanding as caries or an overly hard nut.

Today's food is much softer, and besides, we have all kinds of devices for grinding it. Wisdom teeth are no longer needed, because the rest serve us much longer. Therefore, we have to part with an extra pair.

We have improved immunity

In 2007, a team of scientists from Royal Holloway College at the University of London conducted a study aimed at identifying the latest signs of evolution. To do this, they studied about 1,800 genes that have appeared in humans in the last 40,000 years. The vast majority of these genes are somehow related to a person's ability to resist infectious diseases. Scientists have come to interesting conclusions.

About 12 new genes are common among Africans that help the body fight malaria effectively. Residents of large cities are armed with genes that allow them to fight tuberculosis and leprosy. Thus, the place of residence (or "habitat", as scientists would say) influences the formation of immunity.

Our brains are shrinking

As long as you experience a sense of superiority over the animal world due to the size of your brain, which makes you the crown of creation, your brain becomes smaller. Over the past 30,000 years, the average human brain has decreased from 1500 cubic centimeters to 1350! The difference is about the size of a tennis ball.

Scholars have several theories for why this is happening. First, we are becoming dumber, the reason for this is the high standard of living and the complex organization of society. Simply put, you don't have to be a very brainy guy to survive. Another theory suggests that a small brain is much more efficient than a large one, because neural connections are made much faster. And finally, there is a theory that a smaller brain makes our species more social, allowing us to more effectively exist in a group. Or his ersatz - "Facebook".

People have not stopped evolving, although our civilization is not so many years old that we could see some strong changes. And yet, some changes in people can be predicted. This compilation contains ten big changes that are likely to occur in the next 200,000 years if civilization continues on its current path.

10. Monoethnicity

Multiculturalism is the basis of modern society. It will not be surprising if, with further mixing of cultures, people eventually evolve into one ubiquitous ethnic group. Mixed marriages are no longer something out of the ordinary, because of which people will gradually lose their distinctive ethnic features, adopting the characteristics of peoples from different parts of the world. At least in one way or another, racism will no longer be a problem in the future.

9. Weakened immune system


As a person's dependence on drugs increases, it can be expected that a person's immune system will gradually weaken. A good explanation for this is the example of hormones: in the future, with the help of supplements, a person will be able to regulate his hormonal levels in order to improve his well-being. Over time, the human body will become dependent on additional hormones, until this dependence reaches the point where the body stops releasing these hormones, relying entirely on receiving hormones from outside. The processes in the body responsible for the production of hormones will become less important for survival, since thanks to supplements, the body will always have the necessary amount of hormones.

After several tens of thousands of years of this lifestyle, the human body is likely to completely lose the ability to produce hormones as unnecessary. To take this example further, many bodily functions may become unnecessary as a person's dependence on outside help increases. Why does the body need a strong immune system if all pathogens are destroyed by drugs? This is another disadvantage of thoughtlessly taking medicines to fight even mild diseases.

8. Muscular atrophy


There are two reasons for the gradual weakening of the physical aspect of the human organism. The first reason is the transfer of "dirty" (but improving our muscles) labor to technical devices. The less each generation depends on physical strength, the more likely it is that our species as a whole will grow weaker.

The second reason for the possible development of muscle atrophy sounds much more pleasant - the "movement" of mankind into space. In this scenario, physical strength will no longer be needed in everyday activities. If humanity goes on a too long space flight, then gradually the muscle mass of people will greatly decrease. Many have heard that astronauts returning to earth after a long stay in space noticeably lose muscle mass. Future generations will have to take this fact into account if they do not want to be unable to move independently, like the people from the WALL-E cartoon.

7. Increased height


The average human height has been rapidly increasing over the past two centuries. In just the last 150 years, the average height of people has increased by 10 centimeters. It is believed that the main reason for our desire to rise is the abundance of nutrients available to man. Hunger was a big problem for those who tried to grow taller, but now in some parts of the world the problem of hunger is no longer so acute.

The more a child can eat, the more he/she has the energy to grow. As long as people have the ability to eat more than they need, our species will grow taller. Only time and evolution will show what is the limit of human growth.

6. Hair loss


For many reasons, the human body has already shed most of its hairline, and over time, most likely, humanity will become more and more bald. Women, in particular, are often considered more attractive if they lack hair on certain parts of their bodies. If the absence of hair provides an individual with an advantage in sexual attractiveness, then over time, women may evolve in such a way that unwanted hair is completely absent from their bodies. The same can be said for men, at least in terms of body hair, but since society does not require men to be completely hairless, the change is less likely.

5. Redistribution of brain functions

Technology has already changed how our memory works. The human brain strives for maximum efficiency, which is why it prefers to remember where to find some information, rather than remembering the information itself. It is much easier to remember where you put a book with the necessary facts than to remember the whole book, and in the age of the Internet, this feature of the brain has become even more important. How often have you tried to remember something, but then decided to just look it up on the Internet? Thus, the brain remembers where you can find information - on the Internet, on Wikipedia, through Google, and so on. As technology advances, our brains are adapting to be more efficient, which could have a detrimental effect on memory.

4. Reducing the size of the teeth


The most obvious change in our jaws will be the absence of wisdom teeth, which are not needed by modern man, and which are already quite rare among some peoples. In addition, we can expect a reduction in the size of our teeth. Throughout human evolution, a process of tooth reduction has been observed. Studies show that over the past 100,000 years, human teeth have halved in size. Human jaws have also shrunk since they no longer have to support huge fangs. We can safely say that the size of the teeth will continue to decrease.

3. Fewer toes


Before humans were upright, the toes were used for grasping, as were the hands. Ever since people started walking more than climbing, their toes have been shrinking in size. Now our feet are unable to grasp even small branches, and evolution has almost rid us of little toes on our feet.

If the other toes, especially the big toe, serve for walking and stability, the small toes have no function, and people would not notice the disappearance of the little toe. For this reason, and also because of the problems of its useless existence (hitting against any protruding object and chafing while walking), it can be expected that the people of the future will have only four toes. We will not be the first example of a reduction in the number of fingers during evolution, for example, horses previously had more than two fingers.

2. Increasing/Decreasing the volume of the skull


There are two opinions about the change in the size of the skull. The opinion about the reduction in the size of the skull, supported by many scientists, is due to the fact that the human head can no longer become larger. Why? Those who gave birth will tell you that the head of the child, to put it mildly, is already quite large. For this reason, many biologists believe that an increase in the size of the head would make childbirth impossible, which means that the evolutionary process would quickly respond to this. A large head is more likely to cause death or injury to the mother. Given these arguments, it seems inevitable that the size of the head will remain or even decrease over time.

On the other hand, it does not take into account the fact that caesarean section may contribute to the survival of large-headed children. Moreover, some believe that over time, a caesarean section will become much safer than natural childbirth. This can result in small-headed babies born naturally being less likely to survive than those born by caesarean section.

However, such dependence can be dangerous for people. If big-headed people lose the ability to perform caesarean sections, they face rapid extinction.

1. Self-improvement


Humanity can eventually develop technology that allows them to independently carry out evolutionary processes. Whether it's literal self-improvement (bionic organs, for example) or parents' choice of genes for their unborn child, this is the most likely path for human evolution in the near future. If gene selection is allowed by governments, it could lead to a boom in "perfect babies" who are free of all flaws and undesirable characteristics. This could help humanity get rid of most of the negative qualities.

Professor S. Stearns says that migration, cultural diffusion, globalization and other factors lead to the homogenization of the planet's population and the gradual averaging of facial features. Freckles and light-colored eyes will become rare over time, as these are recessive traits.

In 2002, epidemiologists conducted a study in which it turned out interesting fact that only one in six Hispanic Americans has blue eyes, while just a hundred years ago, blue-eyed Americans accounted for more than half of the population. It is predicted that the skin and hair will become darker, blondes and people with very dark skin will become a rarity.
In the US, the most active mixing of the gene pool is taking place. Some regions have retained some unique physical traits that are the result of evolution, they are dominant, so they will not disappear so quickly. In some places, immigration is not as active, so homogenization occurs more slowly, and it may not even occur at all. However, there is a version that in a few centuries the appearance of the inhabitants of the earth will be similar to the phenotype of the Brazilians.

It is likely that people will learn to change the color of their skin at will by introducing chromatophores (these are pigment cells that are present in fish and reptiles) into the body. This will give its advantages, perhaps, interracial prejudices will disappear forever.

Growth

Primitive people had an average height of 160 cm. There has been a tendency to increase this figure over the past centuries. This leap is especially noticeable in the last few decades. This trend is likely to continue, as it largely depends on the diet. Food is available and nutritious.

the beauty

Previous studies have found that the most attractive women have more children than less beautiful women. At the same time, more girls are born to them. Daughters grow up into the same attractive women, and this continues forever. Scientists at the University of Helsinki have come to the conclusion that the number of beautiful women is increasing, but this trend does not apply to men. But the probability that the person of the future will be beautiful is high. The body structure will be more athletic, and facial features will be thinner.

O. Curry, an evolutionary theorist, suggested a hypothesis, though more like a fantasy, that the human race will be divided into 2 main types: lower, ugly short men, and higher: slender tall handsome men spoiled by technological progress. But this will happen not earlier than in 100 thousand years.

Big head

The human brain will increase in size if the person continues to develop. We will increasingly depend on technological progress and on intelligence. But paleontologist P. Ward does not agree with this theory. He believes that today humanity is on the edge due to the anatomical structure and large brains already cause enough problems in childbirth. If the brain continues to grow, then women simply will not be able to give birth on their own, which will lead to high child and maternal mortality. Evolution will not follow this path.

Obesity

Recent studies predict that by 2030 there will be 65 million more obese people in the US. The same problem will not bypass the Europeans. On average, this indicator is expected to increase by 15%. Most modern foods contain a large amount of "empty" calories. This contributes to an increase in the percentage of obesity among the population. If the concept of rational nutrition is popularized, then this process can be controlled.

If humanity finds a rational way out in terms of proper nutrition, then it will be possible to significantly reduce diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

Hair

C. Darwin argued that the hair on the human body is a rudiment, so you can often hear that a person is jokingly called a naked monkey. Due to widespread heating and affordable clothing, the need for body hair is outdated. But this is not the main aspect of maintaining body hair. If this trait remains attractive to the opposite sex, then natural selection will make body hair the dominant trait.

Technology

Of course, computer technology is already a part of our life. They influence human development. The development of the hand can be affected by the constant use of the keyboard and touch devices. As a result, the fingers are expected to become longer and more dexterous as the concentration of nerve endings increases. As the need for technical interfaces increases, so will the priorities. Perhaps some of the interfaces will migrate to the human body.

Rudiments

Wisdom teeth are rudiments that no longer have any function, they are removed surgically. Our ancestors had stronger jaws and more teeth. Gradually, the food began to change, heat treatment appeared, the jaws began to decrease. In addition, statistically, 25% of people are already born without the rudiments of wisdom teeth. This number is expected to only grow.

Low intelligence and poor memory

The hypothesis about the high intelligence of future generations raises doubts. Dependence on web search engines has a strong negative impact on the level of our memory. The Internet replaces the ability of the brain to remember, since at any time the necessary information can be found on the Internet. As a result, the Internet has become a backup memory.

E. Kandel, a neurophysiologist, believes that the Internet makes people dumber, he talks about this in his scientific article. Excessive use of the Internet does not allow you to focus on one thing. To acquire new knowledge, it is necessary to pay attention to that information and associate it with existing knowledge. Surfing the Internet does not allow you to concentrate, distracting you with different things. And this prevents the formation of strong neural connections.

Physical infirmity

Research has shown that we are physically weaker than our ancestors. This situation is aggravated and will be aggravated in the future due to the fact that transport has appeared that is improving and becoming more comfortable, over time, inventive minds will come up with more and more smart vehicles, as a result of which there will be no need for physical activity and even walking. Subsequently, this can lead to a change in the limbs, namely, shortening of the limbs and feet. Evolution eliminates unnecessary features.

Depression

Today, 43% of the US population say that they suffer from an unbalanced character and a depressive state at the age of 45-65 years. 39% experienced anxiety. Dentists note that visits of patients with complaints of pain in the jaws have become more frequent due to the fact that they clench their jaws in their sleep due to increased stress.

Weakened immunity

In the future, people are expected to have weak immunity and be more susceptible to pathogens. As a result of the use of antibiotics and various new medical technologies, our body has become "lazy". We have become addicted to drugs, and over time the human body can stop "thinking" for itself and rely on drugs to function properly.

Hearing

People are able to focus their attention on the specific things they hear. Amidst the noise at the party, we can quite definitely hear the person we are talking to. The human ear has no mechanism for this function. Everything happens in the cerebral cortex. Over time, this ability will only improve. The Internet and media are developing rapidly, there is a lot of information, so the person of the future needs to filter incoming information. This "filter" will protect a person from stress, which is very good for health.

strange face

Artist N. Lamm and Dr. A. Kwan suggested what the face of a future person would look like. They base their assumptions on the impact that the environment will have on a person. Most likely, the big changes will affect the forehead, which has become wider since the fourteenth century. Genetic engineering will also contribute, and with its help it will be possible to change the face in accordance with preferences. Colonization of other planets will cause the skin to be darker in order to reduce the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation on the body. The eyelids are expected to be thicker and the brow ridges more pronounced.

post-gender society

The development of reproductive technologies can completely replace reproduction in the usual way. Parthenogenesis and cloning, as well as the creation of artificial queens, will help expand the possibilities of reproduction. This will completely erase the boundaries between the sexes. As a result, attachment to a particular sex will disappear. Perhaps there will be the formation of a single androgynous mass, which means the absence of physical sexes and the disappearance of the role model of behavior of women and men.

Skeleton

If humanity, like fish and sharks, had a flexible skeleton consisting mainly of cartilage, using genetic engineering for this, then this would give a number of advantages to humans, since such a skeleton is very rational in the process of childbirth. It would also reduce trauma.

Wings

Columnist D. Burnett spoke about how, in a conversation with a colleague, he said that he did not believe in evolution. The main argument was that he believes that evolution is the survival of the strongest and fittest, and wings are a necessary part for a person. Well, this theory also has its right to exist.

Speaking with technology and innovation experts at California's Singularity University, Pete Flint put together a variety of predictions about the future: about how we will think, about the opportunities that will open up for us, and about the problems that society will have to face.

Pete Flint

Investor and technology consultant, founder and director of online real estate service Trulia, founder of Lastminute.com, an online travel service.

An optimistic view of things suggests that the development of technology will solve some big problems in areas ranging from medicine to transportation and energy. This will allow to achieve a qualitatively new standard of living.

Already, the rate of change is very high: in business and technology, literally every week there is something new. In the future, the speed of progress will only increase. And this entails changes in ethics, culture and society. New problems will arise that humanity will have to solve.

Features of innovation development

1. It is actually very difficult to predict the future, because it is too illogical and the principles of exponential growth do not work in many areas of life. When it comes to technology, many of them are developing exponentially. As a result, we often overestimate the impact of scientific discoveries in the short term and underestimate the long term.

2. It is often difficult to predict the future due to companies introducing innovations that are attractive to a limited circle of people. The public either ignores such innovations or ridicules them. However, these companies are growing fast and providing themselves with decisive advantages, while other organizations are either unable to use the new product, or do not want to do it, or do it too late.

3. Innovation is like a relay race where one group of people create something and pass it on to another. First, the dreamers pass their ideas on to the innovators, who, in turn, pass on the products to the entrepreneurs, and they, in turn, to the big businessmen, the creators of empires, in order to put the product on a financial basis and introduce it to the masses. Successful technology investing depends on timing and understanding how innovation evolves.

4. We should be enthusiastic about the possibility of superintelligence, which will help solve many important problems. Especially considering the fact that technological breakthroughs happen both with deep immersion in one science, and at the junction of different disciplines.

5. Consumer technology is constantly improving. Usability, data analysis, and analytics will become increasingly important. Companies that do this now have excellent prospects for the future.

6. Some technology companies based on their own data, public data or intellectual property assets, on the contrary, will weaken. Because other companies and communities provide data for free or for very little money to attract users to their services.

7. or artificial intelligence will make many people happy.

8. have almost become a commodity of mass consumption. In the future, increasing the power and number of sensors, lowering the price, more advanced interfaces and lowering the cost will contribute to the further spread of robots.

9. Robots will become much more interesting when they start doing things that are inaccessible to a person, instead of just replacing a person, as is happening now.

10. The transition to self-driving electric vehicles will greatly affect everyday life in general. And this will happen much earlier than expected, and before people have time to prepare for it. The fact that during the trip you can do anything and not follow the road, cities and areas. In large cities, this will affect the quality of life and will likely lead to a surge in urbanization.

11. The introduction of electric vehicles will start slowly, and then quickly gain momentum. As gas stations become less popular, over time it will become less and less profitable to have a regular car.

12. Changes in robotics and innovation in manufacturing and agriculture will destroy the traditional production chains that exist today. This will create many business opportunities.

The medicine

13. In the near future, 3D printing will allow you to create cartilage and bones, taking into account the characteristics of a particular person. In the long term, molecular and nanoprinting will create devices and robots that will revolutionize medicine. For example, with the help of such a seal it will be possible to create organs for transplantation.

14. The cost of genomic testing is rapidly declining, and in the next decade this procedure will cost a penny. This will have a major impact on and at the same time the emergence of consumer health products and crazy ideas like smart toilets and showers based on sensitive sensors.

15. The ability to conduct low-cost genetic research, combined with data analysis, will shift the focus of medicine from treatment to diagnosis and prevention of diseases. This will make it possible to find cures for the most terrible killers of our time - cancer and neurological disorders.

16. To take into account the huge amount of information received from sensitive low-cost sensors, medicine will need analytics and artificial intelligence. Fragmentation and accounting of information will become the main problems of medicine.

17. People born in developing countries today have every chance of living 2.5 years more than those born 10 years ago. As technology advances exponentially, human life expectancy will increase with every decade. So in the future, those who will be born in a few decades will have every chance of living a very, very long time (if, of course, they can afford it). In this regard, a number of problems will arise - financial, cultural and social.

Finance and Economics

18. Blockchain - a technology for reliable distributed data storage - will soon change the work of financial institutions. They become almost invisible to us.

19. will develop until it becomes practically indistinguishable from the real world. Moreover, in terms of quality of experience and functionality, it will surpass reality. This will go really far and will have a huge impact on our society.

Energy

20. The cost of obtaining solar energy will fall, so it will be used more and more.

21. Over the past few decades, energy change has been held back not by technology, but by politics and social factors.

22. Innovations in the field of energy storage and transportation matter even more than new energy production technologies.

23. The digitization of information will create potential threats, so the investment in security will be very significant.

Education

24. Most likely, the skills required for the job, . To stay afloat, the specialist will need to undergo repeated training. A new approach to education and careers will be required.

25. Our children and grandchildren will live in another world. For them to be successful, we must provide them with continuous education and knowledge in the field of technology, engineering, as well as develop critical thinking, creativity and sensitivity.

Organizations of the future

26. As technology advances, the demands on the productivity of organizations and managers will increase. This will shorten the lifespan of most companies. The most successful organizations of the future are those that continue to train employees and implement new technologies throughout their existence.

27. Companies that have the ability to quickly innovate and change technology will always keep pace with progress.

Society

28. To prevent drastic job cuts, the government will need to provide everyone with a basic income, whether they work or not, and help them through social and workplace changes.

29. It is expected that the number of jobs in the US will be halved over the next 20 years due to computerization and the replacement of people by robots. In less developed countries this figure will be lower.

30. Job losses due to the introduction of robots and artificial intelligence are predictable and inevitable, just as they were in the past with the automation of enterprises. But it is difficult to predict how the government and society will react to this.

31. The rapid development of technology should help people in all areas of life. But if there are no major changes in government and society, technology will be available only to a small number of wealthy people, which will further divide society into classes.

32. Some developing countries will be able to outpace others in building certain types of infrastructure and gain an economic advantage, much like existing companies are beating out by adopting a new, more efficient model of operation.

33. The future reflects the many stories that are woven into traditional religions: life after death, out-of-body experiences, the eradication of diseases, the treatment of paralysis, superintelligence, and so on. Is it a coincidence? Or has our human nature, throughout history, pushed us to solve these problems? And how will religions react to the fact that miracles are becoming commonplace?

34. Perhaps society will become more human, or perhaps more value human nature in a digitized life. As technology becomes more and more invisible, man moves up Maslow's pyramid of needs and begins to appreciate things around him in a way that all generations of people before him could not.