How do you perceive your ideal self in the technological future? A DeepThink Challenge

I am a (Star) Trekkie! I have watched every episode of every series of Star Trek The Next Generation and Star Trek Voyager at least 4 times! Those of us who are also Trekkies will, I'm sure, relate very well to much of what I am about to write. Star Trek is to me one of the best examples of how a good moral compass and ideology can take us into a highly technological future with grace and humanity. Our humanity is what defines us. What our humanity is exactly is quite a difficult question to answer, so for now I would like to say that it is Our Humanity that should be honoured as one of the guiding pillars for all our technological advancements.

One of the most significant differences between the Star Trek future and our current paradigm is that Earth is a money-less society. This is the golden nugget really. What you will find, time and time again, is that many of the fundamental advances made in the 'Golden Age' Future go totally against the systems of capitalism, and power obtained through control and manipulation of money. Once you remove money totally from society and State we can then all benefit and be uplifted by technology instead of manipulated and controlled by it.

What also stands out to me in the Star Trek Future is their moral code, and their great respect and understanding of it. The moral fiber of planet Earth is in good shape and they have very few problems compared with the myriad of issues we face today. Whilst they have incredible technology both on their planets and Space Ships, they do not indiscriminately and ubiquitously monitor everything. There is very little crime, drug problems, poverty etc and in general people can be trusted. Even on a battle ship people's movements (whilst trackable) are not actively tracked or looked at except for in exceptional circumstances. There is a very high respect to individual privacy and plenty of room for freedom of expression.

Society is still hierarchical, but in a different way than today. Whilst i do believe in decentralized power, i am also pragmatic and realise that there are times when it is needed. When a power structure has integrity and truly has the best interests of the people at heart, then some centralization of power can be a great thing.

So with all that said, i can now answer the question of what technical advancements i would like to see. I will list them in order of importance, with the most important first.

Replicators
Anyone who's watched Star Trek knows about the replicators! These are amazing machines that can make pretty much anything out of thin air (using power). They take this to the extreme by also replicating food. Whilst i don't like the idea of that, i can see how it will be a great option for emergency situations or long distance travel. Other than that, I can see the machines being a great liberator and cornerstone in removing the shackles and burdens of having to find money to pay for products and consumerism. These machines would knock capitalism on its foundational head! Hence we will never see them until money ceases to be a cornerstone of society. We can make great strides to removing poverty when we all have equal access to resources, products, water, power and food.

Holodecks

The holodecks are like next generation VR goggles. On a holodeck you can enter any kind of world or space that is artificially generated by computer holograms. They are fully interactive to the extent that you can eat, drink and partake in just about any activity that you would in the real world. These holodecks can be used for any number of uses such as recreation, problem solving, technological development, education etc. As a gadget of the future, I think im all in favor of holodecks. One of the other nice features is that several people can interact with each other and are not isolated or cut off from the environment .. instead, you are immersed in a new one!

Transporters

Instant travel to almost anywhere on the planet or beyond... with no carbon footprint or damage to the environment. This is a no brainer! i can't say that we'll have that option in just 100 years, but you never know! They are working on it and making some progress!

Universal Translators

What better way to foster global Communication and understanding then to be able to talk totally naturally to anyone and in any language. The universal translator already almost exists so this one is sure to be make even more progress in 100 years. This device IS almost an implant (it lives in the ear canal), and this is one implant that under certain circumstances, I would probably be comfortable with. It isn't a tracking device! I think its pretty obvious how this technology could build bridges between so many cultures and international affairs.

Com Badge

Isn't it interesting how people don't have embedded microchips in the Star Trek future!? How wonderful that they found another option! What they have is simply a removable badge that you wear to communicate to others with. If you don't want to be contacted or tracked you can just take it off! It works a charm!

Whilst these are just a few examples of technologies that I would welcome, there are many more! I can not even imagine some of the new gadgets that will be available to me in 100 years or more, so its also quite hard to answer this question without inventing some of my own ideas! Rather than do that, I would like to say that what is most important to me are the core principals of our world rather than the details.

If we keep our morals and ethics in check, and start to behave in a synergistic way with ourselves, each other, and the world, then we no longer have to worry about the specifics of what precise tech we would welcome or not. We won't have to worry about AI machines going bezzerk and killing everyone because they wouldn't even be armed! We wouldn't need killing drones or micro bugs because there would be no reason to kill for. It may be hard to imagine right now, but that is what happens when you remove the predatory, survival of the fittest attitude that pervades the world today. Therefore, I am not for or against any particular kind of tech. It is how it is used and for what purpose that is key.

I would like to conclude by saying that when centralized, competitive, capitalistic systems make way for the new resource based economy.. then and only then will we not even have to ask these questions. Our fears today about the future are mostly based on the assumption that our systems will remain the same for much longer. I do not believe they will last long now! From a broad perspective that means 100-200 years. Whilst that seems a lot to us in this present day moment, it is but a flash in the pan in terms of the amount of time that has preceded us. It is somewhat paradoxical that we move at light speed in our development, but are often unable to see it. We live in a limited perspective of our senses and our time frames and our personal desires. When we can let these go, we can see clearly into the inevitable future! The Golden Age Is Upon us!

This post in in response to @rieki 's post promoting the Deep Think Challenge. You can read this post here
https://steemit.com/writing/@rieki/a-tech-less-topia-imagining-our-future-paradise-a-deepthink-challenge#@eco-alex/re-rieki-a-tech-less-topia-imagining-our-future-paradise-a-deepthink-challenge-20170904t014753256z

 

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