The Future

[Excited Penguin]

Picking on someone's ideas and/or arguments is not the same as insulting them. This is a discussion forum. We're supposed to debate and discuss. The person involved specifically took issue with my scenario about the future and failed to provide one of his own instead. Are you suggesting I should agree with him simply because I made the thread?

You wouldn't know "discussion" if it bit you in the ass! Which it does - every time you drop another shit-post with no sincere intent to do anything other than start a fight.

Admit it, you set this thread up specifically with staging a fight in mind, and that's called trolling, not discussion. You posited a question which you solicited replies to, and I gave you one. Most people seem to agree that mine was well thought out and reasonable, if not pleasant or hopeful. You didn't like my reality undercutting  your fantasy, and your responses were insanely childish and insulting, which is consistent with your typical behavior on this forum. "Discussion" with you is at best like clapping with one hand - which actually can be done when the one hand hits you in the face, but since I try not to be a violent guy, and you deserve nothing better for the violence you commit here, we're done.

So now you're accusing me of trolling? Again, you have the report function for that.

You feel bad I disagreed with you? I'm sorry, Hanky, but I won't agree with you simply because it's my thread. It's not happening. As it is I noticed some flaws within your response to my own scenario and I pointed them out. You chose yourself to attack my position, in a way, not actually answering any of my real questions but answering one you made up yourself in your mind just so you could be argumentative. You brought my criticism of your ideas on yourself, and you didn't like it when it came. You started whining about it, screaming and calling me names, instead of defending your position any further. Not to mention all this pointing fingers business that you seem to think works in your favor.

[Joods]

Listen little turd, here's the difference between what he said and what you said:

He wasn't insulting your opinion or your scenario. You, however, took the low road (as usual) and decided that because he didn't agree with you, you would then use insults to get your way. It doesn't matter whether or not your insults were actually against a person or an idea. The fact that you used them because someone disagreed with you, after you asked for opinions, IS the point.

Again, you are incapable of having any sort of rational discussion with people whenever they disagree with you.

[AFTT47]

A few thoughts to try to get this back on track:

Artificial intelligence will flourish. Robots of all kinds will start to be common in about 20 years.

Solar power will flourish in the coming decades. I hope (not necessarily believe) fusion will come on line too. There will be a sharp decline in the use of fossil fuels but it may take 100 years before we're off them completely - particularly if fusion continues to elude us.

Dogmatic religions will gradually go away. They may not die out entirely but they will cease to have a significant influence. I'd give it no more than 50 years before the US is like Great Britain in that regard. It will take a lot longer in places like Africa and the Middle East but they will get there too.

Society will continue to become more global with ever-increasing importance on international coalitions. A single world government will happen inside 100 years. It will be pretty much a necessity as everyone on the planet will have the capability to build nuclear weapons. We simply will not be able to afford warfare anymore. It'll be a choice between a global government or Armageddon.

We will colonize space but it will be in huge, artificial colonies as foreseen by the late physicist Gerard K O'Neil - not planetary surfaces.

We will start to purposely direct our own evolution through genetic engineering. Our bodies will eventually incorporate synthetic parts in order to increase physical and mental capabilities. We will reach the point where death only occurs because of accidents, homicides or suicides.

[John V]

The whole point of reproduction is so that a species can survive.

You're not doing it right if that's what you think.

[ErGingerbreadMandude]

I disagree with AIs undergoing huge advancements. Human brain is EXTREMELY difficult to emulate due to technological as well as algorithmic limitations.

[Excited Penguin]

I disagree with AIs undergoing huge advancements. Human brain is EXTREMELY difficult to emulate due to technological as well as algorithmic limitations.

Read Our Final Invention by James Barrat or Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom.

[Mermaid]

We will water our crops with Gatorade (because it has electrolytes!) and we will look like this:

[God of Mr. Hanky]

We will start to purposely direct our own evolution through genetic engineering. Our bodies will eventually incorporate synthetic parts in order to increase physical and mental capabilities. We will reach the point where death only occurs because of accidents, homicides or suicides.

I don't doubt that prediction in any way, it seems we have more than started down that track. However, the new reality which this will create looks hazy and complicated at best. How will our own evolution be directed - will it be through continuous genetic patching of existing humans in that brave new world (not trying to snark, I was forced to read that awful book by Alex Huxley in high school, and even in that scenario death was unavoidable), will new humans be lab-raised, will natural childbirth continue, or will there be room for new children at all? In a world which already has at least 6 billion too many people, I almost hope this brave future won't be realized prior to the next worldwide apocalypse.

[God of Mr. Hanky]

I disagree with AIs undergoing huge advancements. Human brain is EXTREMELY difficult to emulate due to technological as well as algorithmic limitations.

That's called argument from ignorance. If scientists thought like that, then we would not be exploring the planets and listening to gravitational waves caused by proven black holes now.

[FatAndFaithless]

I just want all my parts to by bionic so I can 1) Be a fucking cyborg, and 2) Never get sick