A Better World in 2050? by Jerome C. Glenn

Preparing for the future.

Globalist Bookshelf > Global Science A Better World in 2050?
By Jerome C. Glenn \| Sunday, November 04, 2001

Despite a somewhat gloomy outlook at present — with headlines dominated by wars, ethnic strife, AIDS and environmental degradation — there is much hope for a better future. Its main catalysts could be science, technology and the Internet. Jerome Glenn offers a hopeful scenario for 2050, in which the world may turn out to be a pleasant place to live in.

y 2050, the world had finally achieved a global economy that appeared to be environmentally sustainable, while providing nearly all people with the basic necessities of life — and the majority with a comfortable living.

Three keys to success

The resulting social stability created a world in relative peace, exploring possible futures for the second half of the 21st century.

Social stability nurtured economic growth and created 2 billion people in the global middle class by 2010.

Different explanations have been given for the series of astounding successes achieved by 2050. Some believe that breakthroughs in science and technology were the key.

Others argue that development of the human potential was more fundamental — and still others that political and economic policies made the difference. All three themes were important and mutually reinforcing.

Paradise on Earth?

The Internet became a right of citizenship. The connection of virtually all people to the global information and communications systems accelerated the pace of scientific research and the introduction and diffusion of new technology.

Biotechnology, nanotechnology and closed-environment agriculture fed the world. New and improved sources of energy made for cleaner economic growth.

Cyber-economy

Brain-like intelligence systems used neural networks to augment human intelligence and improve decision-making.

By 2050, the world had finally achieved a global economy that was environmentally sustainable — while providing nearly all people with the basic necessities of life.

Molecular manufacturing lowered manufacturing unit costs, requiring less volume of materials and energy usage. This approach also lowered the environmental impact of production for a population that had reached almost 10 billion.

Cyberspace had become a major medium of civilization, creating a constantly growing, non-zero sum economy. It had changed day-to-day life as significantly as the industrial revolution did 200 years earlier.

No more mistakes

Because of the speed and ubiquity of communications systems, decision-makers and the general public became increasingly aware of the consequences of their decisions — almost as they occurred. Feedback on the results of actions was so rapid that real time self-correcting decisions were the norm.

This mechanism has reduced the time from early warnings to timely and effective responses and contributed to the solution of many of the seemingly intractable problems of the 20th century.

Peace at last

The number of wars decreased as democracies and respect for cultural diversity increased in the early 21st century.

Cyberspace had become a major medium of civilization, changing life as significantly as the industrial revolution did 200 years earlier.

Although old cultural conflict wounds of the past still flared occasionally, people could successfully avert and prevent them from growing into larger conflicts. The resulting social stability nurtured economic growth and created two billion people in the global middle class by 2010.

This increased conditions for further stability and sustainable growth that moved over five billion people in the middle class by 2050. Increasing numbers of people now accept that access — not possession — is the measure of wealth.

Intergalactic utopia

This new cultural norm helped to change consumption patterns.

The success of the International Space Station led to other orbital habitats. By 2050, nearly 250,000 people work in space communities in orbit, on the moon — and on the pioneer communities on Mars.

Machine intelligence

Human consciousness became more compassionate with the daily flood of images of Earth from space. Many children born in space have developed careers related to conflict prevention and reinforcing the value of ethnic diversity.

Social stability created a world in relative peace, exploring possible futures for the second half of the 21st century.

Their increasing interaction with Earth-based groups has provided a calming influence on potential social conflicts.

Advances in cybernetics and human cognitive development increased the use of machine intelligence to augment human intelligence, while emphasizing social and emotional development for improved decision making.

In short, it became fashionable to be intelligent and virtuous. Philosophers and artists created terminology and imagery that communicated that the strength of diversity is its underlying unity and our ethical responsibilities to future generations.

Strength in diversity

Psychonauts exploring the mind and cybernauts exploring cyberspace helped create new forms of notation and symbols that enabled the general public to understand the sophisticated world of 2050.

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