It is the year 2175; life has advanced to the point that human beings have achieved near immortality. Life has changed much from the way we hear our ancestors used to live in the early 2000s. Technology has advanced to the point where humans have surpassed limitations in places where only a millennia ago, man thought was impossible. But as I live through 2175, I cannot help but feel that the people in the early 2000s, data about whom is uploaded into our brains from childhood.
People today have begun to live far longer than human beings have lived at any point in their lives. Unless one is struck by some accident or killed, there is no significant threat to human life remaining. Even if I suffer from a fatal injury, we have advanced machines to transfer my consciousness and memory to another clone and essentially become a new person with the same body and features (McDonald, 2015). Through I feel that longevity has somewhat taken the essence, purpose, and joy of life from me, as life for me is becoming increasingly dull where the only motivation remaining for people around me is the pursuit of pleasure.
My career and job are repetitive and boring, as most of the work I am hired to perform has become automated. There are artificially intelligent systems that assist me in making a decision and handling most of the few tasks that were left remaining for me to do. My duties have become more comfortable, yet they have lost their value. Despite the fact that I am connected through the ultra-net with every other person through the chip implanted inside my wrist (Coughlin, 2017), most people around me and I seem to be living more lonelier lives than ever.
Marriage has become a novelty; people scan other potential partners for their genetic makeup and profiling, the potential downsides to their personality, traits, and physical being. I do not see any particular value in getting married, as there are numerous outlets available for me should I not feel like getting along with a partner, even If I marry. I don’t have any siblings or cousins, as my parents do not believe in the utility of having too many children. I often talk to Eliza, my artificially intelligent virtual assistant, when I feel bored or need to speak to someone (Gear, 2017). Most of the population is old, and artificial population control has been established through genetic testing of embryos that are implanted according to the most useful function that an individual could perform when he grows up. I am a natural birth, but the trend is declining as more women are refusing to carry a child.
My house now is on a pod floating about 1000 meters above ground level. Not all the people have the same luxury as I do. It is nice and quiet up here, with relatively low air pollution and noise. We have slums down below in which the poor classes mostly live. Despite technological advancements, we still have not been able to resolve income and class inequality.
Life in 2175 has its ups and downs, but we have progressed so far. I feel we have left behind a good portion of the values and joy our ancestors used to have in their lives. It makes me think whether being able to live this long is even worth it or not.
References
Coughlin, J. F. (2017). To Chip or Not to Chip: Would You Get a Biotech Implant? Retrieved April 15, 2018, from Big Think: http://bigthink.com/disruptive-demographics/to-chip-or-not-to-chip-would-you-have-a-microchip-implanted-inside-of-you
Gear, A. P. (2017, December 11). What My Chat Bot Is Teaching Me About AI’s Future. Retrieved April 15, 2018, from Wired: https://www.wired.com/story/what-my-personal-chat-bot-replika-is-teaching-me-about-artificial-intelligence/
McDonald, F. (2015, November 30). A New Start-Up Wants to Transfer Your Consciousness to an Artificial Body So You Can Live Forever. Retrieved from Science Alert: https://www.sciencealert.com/a-new-start-up-wants-to-transfer-your-consciousness-to-an-artificial-body-so-you-can-live-forever
