Whatpicturedoyouhaveofthefuture?Willlifeinthefuturebebetterworseofthesameasnow?Whatdoyouhopeaboutthefuture?
Futurologistspredictthatlifewillprobablybeverydifferentin2050inallthefieldsofactivityfromentertainmenttotechnology.FirstofallitseemsthatTVchannelswillhavedisappearedby2050.Insteadpeoplewillchooseaprogrammefromamenuandacomputerwillsendtheprogrammedirectlytothetelevision.TodaywecanusetheWorldWideWebtoreadnewspaperstoriesandseepicturesonacomputerthousandsofkilometersaway.By2050musicfilmsprogrammesnewspapersandbookswillcometousbycomputer.
Inwhatconcernstheenvironmentwaterwillhavebecomeoneofourmostseriousproblems.Inmanyplacesagricultureischangingandtheyaregrowingfruitandvegetablestoexport.Thisusesalotofwater.Demandforwaterwillincreasetentimesbetweennowand2050andtherecouldbeseriousshortages.Somefuturologistspredictthatwatercouldbethecauseofwarifwedon’tactnow.
Intransportcarswillrunonnewcleanfuelsandtheywillgoveryfast.Carswillhavecomputerstocontrolthespeedofthecarandtherewon’tbeanyaccidents.Todaymanycarshavecomputersthattellthedriversexactlywheretheyare.By2050thecomputerwillcontrolthecaranddriveittoyourdestination.Ontheotherhandspaceplaneswilltakepeoplehalfwayaroundtheworldintwohours.NowadaystheUnitedStatesShuttlecangointospaceandlandonEarthagain.By2050spaceplaneswillflyallovertheworldandpeoplewillflyfromLosAngelstoTokyoinjusttwohours.
Inthefieldoftechnologyrobotswillhavereplacedpeopleinfactories.Manyfactoriesalreadyuserobots.Bigcompaniespreferrobots—theydonotaskforpayrisesorgoonstrikeandtheywork24hoursaday.By2050wewillseerobotseverywhere—infactoriesschoolsofficeshospitalsshopsandhomes.
Inparticularmedicinetechnologywillhaveconqueredmanydiseases.Todaythereareelectronicdevicesthatconnectdirectlytothebraintohelppeoplehear.By2050wewillbeabletohelpblindanddeafpeopleseeagainandhearagainandscientistswillbeabletoproduceclonesofpeopleanddecidehowtheylookhowtheybehaveandhowmuchintelligencetheyhave.Scientistswillbeabletodothese