Year Million

Advances in neuroscience and engineering are bringing us closer toward a reality first described only in great science fiction: artificial intelligence. AI will become indistinguishable from or perhaps even surpass human intelligence, possibly leading to a future where AI beings become our essential collaborators — or a threat. How will this singularity affect the evolution of the human species?

Recent breakthroughs in genetics have given us a better understanding of the biology of humans, opening new potential ways to help us all live healthier for longer. In the future, will we move beyond treating individual diseases and instead treat the aging process itself? How would a dramatically protracted life change not only the fabric of society but what it means to be a human being?

Advances in graphics and computing power have given rise to a renaissance in virtual technologies, offering people profound experiences via online personas. Will reality become a pale shadow of the imaginative worlds we’ve created? What do we risk losing?

The internet has transformed every aspect of modern culture, including the way we communicate. How has constant connectivity affected privacy, and how will it evolve to create seamless, instantaneous connections to the cloud? Will we evolve to become telepathic, and how will this affect relationships? In the future, will we be able to communicate with civilizations that might exist beyond Earth?

Over consumption of energy and resources has led us to a breaking point where we will either have to engineer our way around our problems or look to other planets to inhabit through terraforming, which could disrupt those ecosystems. Is this human-centric view of the universe the right approach? And is it possible there are alien civilizations that have reached this similar inflection point?

The human drive to explore has led us to new planets. What kind of biological adaptions must be made in order to travel farther in space? Will we discover forms of life reminiscent of Earth or new forms entirely? What astrophysical phenomena might we experience, and how closely will they align to how we’ve imagined them in science fiction?