The 21st Century will present a number of imminent challenges that we will need to overcome in order to thrive (and survive) as a globally connected society.
For many of these challenges, advancements in technology and the way our relationships are reconfigured will prove vital to help us overcome them successfully and comprehensively.
There are many roadmaps out there that look at the technological changes coming our way, but this one looks at the ones that we need in order to get through what could otherwise become a global dystopian landscape of almost mythical proportions.
Below is the Future Conscience Roadmap of 21 Advancements Needed to Survive the 21st Century…
1) Renewable Clean Energy
Problem: Our current dependence on non-renewable energy is dragging us into continuous global conflict, climate change and the potential for sudden economic catastrophe.
Solution: We need viable and fully renewable alternatives that are abundant, cheap and applicable to a wide range of geographic contexts.
Resources: UN Environment / IPCC Report / Green Alliance Report / Renewable Energy World
2) Autonomous Vehicles
Problem: Our current forms of personal and commercial transportation are environmentally damaging, inefficient with our time, dangerous and expensive to run.
Solution: Autonomous vehicles will allow us to drastically reduce road fatalities, streamline product delivery systems and reduce traffic delays. They are also able to be more energy-efficient and cheaper to run, particularly for commercial enterprises.
Resources: Deloitte Consumer Study / Wired News / Guardian News / US EIA Report
3) Free & Accessible Internet
Problem: The world’s most important communications and information tool is starting to be under threat from corporate interests, government control and covert manipulation.
Solution: Multi-faceted approach that ensures internet access remains freely available, open to all and, wherever possible, builds in decentralised ownership and delivery mechanisms. Alternative access systems are required on a local level in case of war, oppression and/or remoteness.
Resources: EFF Free Speech / India DoT Report / Oxford Internet Institute / Global Internet Report
4) Decentralised Cryptocurrencies
Problem: Financial institutions are profit-hungry, untrustworthy and proven time and again to conduct themselves in unethical and often outright illegal ways. A large part of the 21st century so far has been dominated by the devastation caused by the impropriety and unsuitability of our current financial systems.
Solution: Cryptocurrency technologies will allow decentralised financial structures to form that cut-out the profiteering of middlemen and provide more flexible, cheaper financial services while also being a vehicle for value storage, wealth creation and peer-to-peer funding streams.
Resources: Bitcoin.org / Coin Mastery / Bitcoin Wiki / Stellar Development Guides
5) Distributed Applications
Problem: Much of our software used today still relies on outdated models of computing power and resilience, using client-server networks that create centralised control (and profit) infrastructures.
Solution: Using the decentralised power of blockchains, combined with smart contract functionality, we can create peer-to-peer networks that allow people to transact with one another in a way that is censorship, corruption and oppression resistant; while overcoming many of the pitfalls of private companies and shareholder-driven business models (e.g. a p2p Uber alternative).
Resources: EOS.io / Motherboard Article / State of the DApps
6) Urban Agriculture
Problem: The world’s population is projected to be over 11 billion by 2100 and we need solutions to provide new agricultural techniques that maximise efficiency while removing waste byproducts and long-distance supply chains.
Solution: Indoor farming technologies will allow a much more efficient use of land and a greater deal of quality control, in combination with weather-immune crops. By providing food production in urban environments, carbon footprints for the food industry can be reduced while local communities can benefit from the use of crops without losing them to higher bidders overseas.
Resources: Assoc. for Vertical Farming / Industry Report / World Bank Report / UN FAO
7) Real-time Language Translation
Problem: Language provides the world with a rich tapestry of expression, but it also divides us. It allows people to dehumanise others they can’t understand and can make it difficult to build bridges across difference.
Solution: The ability to translate from all languages to all others, in real-time, will unlock massive amounts of potential in dialogue, art, creativity and diplomacy. It will also allow us to move away from using a central language (such as English) as the ‘global voice’, because all languages will be able to contribute and be heard in one another’s native tongues.
Resources: Slator Blog / Trend Report / Machine Translation Journal / Babel Fish
8) Future Medicine
Problem: The greatest threat to our existence as individuals are the many diseases and degenerative conditions that our human biology can suffer throughout our lives. From heart disease to cancer, survival in the 21st century will often depend on the ability of modern medicine to cure what ails us.
Solution: Vast amounts of effort and research is being put into cures and treatments of all kinds, with great success. Updated methods of early and accurate diagnosis will be a key development, alongside a wide-range of genetic advancements.
Resources: Nature Journal / IBM Watson Health / Future Medicine / Wired Medicine
9) Anti-Aging Therapies
Problem: We might be able to cure disease and treat degenerative conditions, but this can only extend an ultimately decaying form. Quality of life is as important as the length of one and without a way to slow or reverse the aging process, future medicine will face a crisis of care.
Solution: There are a number of different genetic therapies that are seeking to overcome the inherent paradox of human longevity. These might be coupled with technological solutions that can help overcome physical and neural degeneration.
Resources: International Longevity Centre / Stanford Center on Longevity / Rejuvenation Research Journal / Dr Aubrey de Grey
10) Independent Information Auditing
Problem: The internet has been overrun by fake accounts, false narratives, astro-turfing and propaganda campaigns from every angle: government, corporate and ideological. The current solution seems to be to rely on corporations such as Google and Facebook to censor or categorise information for us, something that has an inherent conflict of interest – particularly given how entwined these kind of companies are with particular political networks and other agendas. This will also be required for audio and video sources as the technology to fake these mediums rapidly advances.
Solution: We need to find a way to indicate these elements of online activity while we are browsing, to easily and accurately be able to dismiss disinformation in all forms. Basic voting systems (such as Reddit) are prone to abuse, so something more sophisticated needs to be developed that is open-source and resilient to manipulation.
Resources: B.S. Detector / Astroturf Analysis / Automated Fact Checking / Fake News Challenge
11) Workplace Automation
Problem: Much of the work that we do is mechanical and repetitive in nature, which is why we have been developing ways to replace processes with technology and make them more efficient. The information age has increased the need for rapid and accurate processing of data, manufacturing and economic decision-making to a degree previously unfathomable.
Solution: Artificial intelligence is reaching the point, when combined with advancements in robotics and mathematical modelling, that we will be able to automate a large proportion of the jobs currently in the workplace today. One study has estimated that this could be upwards of 47% of current jobs that could be automated.
Resources: Research Overview / McKinsey Report / MIT Task Force / OECD Report
12) Basic Income & Shorter Work Weeks
Problem: As our workplaces become more streamlined and efficient (or automated entirely), we need to reassess the role of work in our lives. This requires a different conception of wealth generation, personal productivity and career success. If too much of our time is spent doing so-called ‘bullshit jobs’ then we are failing to meet our true potential, while draining society of important resources in care, creativity and culture.
Solution: Shorten the work-week, boost wages (or introduce a Basic Income) and provide incentives for non-commercial activities. This requires a multi-faceted approach, but will be key to ensuring that we properly and successfully integrate our technological advancements into our daily lives.
Resources: NEF 21 Hours Report / RSA Basic Income Report / Basic Income Earth Network / Bullshit Jobs
13) Representative Political Transparency
Problem: Many of our global political systems have become increasingly beholden to the interests of private and/or corporate donors, over and above the citizen interests our politicians are meant to represent. The levels of obfuscation have only deepened as the world becomes more globalised (and legal structures become more convoluted), with the end result being many people feeling disenfranchised and disillusioned with our current political representatives.
Solution: We need to develop a more transparent form of political decision-making, that takes into account the different levels of influence that private interests have over our collective lives in the public sphere. Education, information, accountability and fact-checking are all desperately required.
Resources: Right 2 Info / Votem / Follow My Vote / IBM Centre for Business of Government
14) Cybersecurity Education
Problem: The balance of geopolitics is constantly shifting and our interconnected digital world is the new frontline. Unfortunately, this gets wrapped up in so much propaganda and citizen-targeted attacks that it’s almost impossible for the average person to get any clear view on what is occurring. When you combine this with the exponentially increasing impact of cyber-crime, we can’t survive the digital age of the 21st century without serious adjustments.
Solution: Cybersecurity needs to be seen as a basic part of our education system and implemented at all levels – not just for national security purposes, but for the ability of individuals to protect themselves from government and criminal intrusions. Like many items on this roadmap, the solution will be multi-faceted: partly prevention, partly defense, partly offensive actions against criminal actors. The digital framework that we exist within needs to be made more secure and each of us needs to understand what areas of our lives are open to attack and exploitation.
Resources: Electronic Frontier Foundation / RAND Corporation / Wired Threat Level
15) Data Ownership, Encryption & Notification of Use
Problem: The platforms we use online mine, track and collate our data – often selling it on to whoever wants access to it without accountability or traceability. Combine this with invasive government data-mining and surveillance and it is clear that one of the biggest flaws of the digital age is that we have lost control over our own data and who has access to it.
Solution: Universal, uncrackable encryption; removal of hardware backdoors; legislation that allows individuals to demand ownership, removal and notification of use; decentralised applications and widespread public education programmes. This is just the beginning and it’s good to see that many people are already starting the journey of data ownership.
Resources: Private Internet Access / Brave Browser / EU Data Protection Law / Mozilla Report
16) Therapeutic VR
Problem: There are many forms of mental illness, PTSD and medical conditions that are difficult to treat with regular therapeutic techniques, often because they manifest in specific environments or social situations.
Solution: For those who are debilitated and desperately isolated by their conditions, VR can provide therapeutic techniques and the experience of real-world situations that would otherwise be beyond their reach. As virtual reality technology continues to advance, these can become more effective tools in healing those with mental illness and providing coping strategies for what can often be overwhelming lives.
Resources: Academic Paper / iMotions Article / NHS Project
17) 3D Printed Consumer Items
Problem: Mass production brings with it mass waste. It also discourages smaller enterprises who can’t compete against the major players in most product-driven consumer industries. It seems that we’re becoming increasingly less diverse in our consumer goods as large multinationals take over the supply chain, with costs added along the way as distributors and other middle-men take their cut.
Solution: 3D printing is becoming viable and cost-effective, to the point that it is now in reach of individual consumers in their own homes. As the technology develops, allowing more diverse materials and increasingly intricate designs, the sphere of items available to produce at home (or in isolated areas) will increase to the point that we can streamline the commercial process and allow a much greater degree of control and targeted use.
Resources: Tom’s Guide / Thingiverse / Forbes Report / Additive News
18) Inclusive Water Supply
Problem: Global water supplies are reaching alarming levels, with many areas in devastating drought and fresh drinking water often not available or unsafe to consume. It has been said that the next World War will be fought over water – which makes this one of the most important issues to solve over coming decades.
Solution: Desalination plants, water recycling, filtration and other technological methods need to be combined with public education programmes and a collective focus on the importance of water and the universal human right that access to it should be.
Resources: Global Water Intel / Deloitte Report / MIT Desalination News / Pacific Institute
19) Modular, Dynamic Homespaces
Problem: Homes are becoming unaffordable for many as our cities become increasingly crowded. We also need to develop safe, affordable and quick to build housing to help deal with emergency situations, extreme poverty and increasing homelessness across the globe.
Solution: There are a wide variety of technologies being produced in these areas; from 3d-printed housing solutions, to multi-use furniture and technology that maximises the use of space within smaller homes. Perhaps part of the solution is also a cultural one, where we seek more communal forms of living (such as the German baugruppen co-development model) that overcome some of the isolating realities of modern life.
Resources: Baugruppen Video / Icon Construction / Habitat for Humanity / McKinsey Report
20) Banking for All
Problem: For-profit banks have little incentive to open accounts for the billions of people around the world belong the poverty line. There are massive sections of the global population that are unable to access fast, reliable, cheap monetary services that would open up the possibilities in their lives and allow them to create the meaningful existences that they desire and deserve.
Solution: This is another area where blockchain technologies are becoming increasingly relevant and capable to provide solutions that traditional banking operations aren’t able (or aren’t interested) in providing. The next generation of monetary solutions will enable everybody to participate in local and global economic systems that are becoming increasingly digital.
Resources: Demos Report / Stellar Network / Decentralised Banking Talk
21) Quantum Computing
Problem: The processing power of our computers is not able to keep up with the revolutionary visions of our greatest minds and is often holding us back from exploring the edges of scientific research and the known universe. We need more power and the ability to exponentially process the vast amounts of data produced in the modern age.
Solution: Quantum computing is becoming increasingly real and feasible, the hard part will be in making it stable enough for the wide range of different contexts and operations that it will revolutionise. There are concerns about access to such processing power and how inclusive it will be, alongside some serious issues about what happens when we are able to crack current forms of encryption that we rely upon – but the future of humanity requires a future technological infrastructure and it looks like quantum computing is required to get us there.
Resources: IBM Q Experience / Science Daily News / Scientific American Article
What do you think of the above list? What has been missed and what other resources are out there? Leave your thoughts in a comment below…
