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00:00 Close your eyes for a moment and imagine yourself in the distant future.
00:04 You stand surrounded by a new world - a world that bears little resemblance to the one you
00:08 know today.
00:09 It could be for the better or for the worse.
00:12 The air is different.
00:13 Perhaps it's clean and invigorating, free of pollutants.
00:16 Or perhaps it's not so fresh, and your breathing has had to adapt.
00:20 The landscape is an amalgamation of nature and technology, where either lush greenery
00:25 seamlessly blends with towering structures that seem to defy gravity… or rather shiny
00:30 machines dwarf a shred of wildlife that's still barely clinging on.
00:35 Maybe you hear the harmonious chatter of unknown, not-yet-evolved birdsong… or your ears ring
00:40 with the hum of heavy industry.
00:42 Clearly, the future is unknown.
00:45 It could be incredible, it could be incredibly bad.
00:48 While the question of "fulfillment" is another with multiple answers.
00:51 Is the future a utopia or dystopia?
00:55 Are you happy in this far-off world?
00:57 Or is there something missing?
00:59 This is Unveiled, and today we're answering the extraordinary question; what will civilization
01:03 look like in ten thousand years?
01:07 Do you need the big questions answered?
01:09 Are you constantly curious?
01:10 Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one?
01:13 And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content!
01:17 Through the lens of time, ten thousand years is both long and short.
01:21 Long in the sense that it's almost double the whole of recorded human history up until
01:25 now… and short in the sense that it's a minuscule fraction of the timeline of humans
01:29 as a whole.
01:30 And certainly in comparison to the age of Earth itself.
01:33 So, to understand what civilization will look like that far into the future, we must first
01:38 appreciate just how much time will have passed.
01:41 For example, how far have we come in the last ten thousand years?
01:45 Yes, it's just a blink of the eye in geological time, a mere speck in the vastness of the
01:50 universe… but this relatively short period has witnessed some astonishing transformations.
01:55 Ten millennia ago, humans were still predominantly hunter-gatherers, reliant on the bounty of
02:00 the land.
02:01 The wheel was a novel invention, the smartphone of its time, and the concept of writing was
02:06 in its infancy.
02:07 Fast forward to today, and we find ourselves in an era of rapid technological advancement,
02:12 global connectivity, and scientific breakthroughs.
02:15 But all of that was still so far away for our ancient ancestors.
02:19 The rise of agriculture was in full swing around ten thousand years ago… but since
02:23 then, and relatively recently, we've had the Industrial Revolution and the Internet
02:28 Age - both major milestones that have redefined what it means to be human and to live on Earth.
02:34 At the current rate of development, it's a sure bet that similarly significant revolutions
02:39 will happen in the next ten millennia as well.
02:41 So, say you're present at the ticking over of the year 12,000.
02:46 There are infinite ways in which life might be different, but some factors appear more
02:50 probable than others.
02:52 Technology no doubt will have progressed… and massively.
02:55 While we can't predict the exact forms it will take, we can anticipate that AI, nanotechnology,
03:01 and biotechnology will have reached unprecedented levels.
03:04 Our understanding of genetics, and our ability to manipulate it, will again change what it
03:09 means to be human.
03:10 The line between biology and machinery will well and truly have been blurred.
03:15 We may have achieved feats like mind uploading, enabling us to exist in a purely digital form.
03:21 We likely will have harnessed fusion power for clean and virtually limitless energy.
03:25 We may even be enjoying a high of consciousness… although some predictions argue that it'll
03:31 actually take more than ten thousand years to get to that level.
03:34 Either way, such advancements will completely change how we live.
03:38 Perhaps even the concepts of industry and the economy will have disappeared.
03:42 In a world that's run by machines, but still populated by organic beings.
03:48 Those beings would likely still live in cities… but cities that are a far cry from the ones
03:52 we have today.
03:54 All projections are that the human population will have continued to rise, maybe to between
03:59 fifty to one hundred billion people on Earth.
04:02 But that wouldn't necessarily mean that everyone would have less.
04:05 By the year 12,000, if we are still here to tell the tale, we should have solved many
04:10 of the challenges that plague our relatively small urban areas today.
04:14 Things like congestion and pollution might even be forgotten about.
04:18 Instead, smart cities will be the norm.
04:20 Built around automated transport systems, vertical farming that stretches into the skies
04:25 above, and a generally ultra-energy-efficient infrastructure.
04:30 If all goes well, then the world will be designed to foster human wellbeing and environmental
04:35 sustainability.
04:36 Although, of course, if it all goes badly, then perhaps none of that will be possible,
04:41 and instead we'll have seen the population boom burst.
04:45 And despite all our improved knowledge, our cities could descend into troubled hubs of
04:50 scarcity.
04:51 And, as so many sci-fi dystopias imagine, the humans that remain may be so outnumbered
04:57 by the machines that they created… and so the cities, in particular, become wildly dangerous
05:03 places.
05:04 Nevertheless, in the meantime, the human body will have changed.
05:08 With advances in biotech, we may have dramatically extended our lifespan, perhaps even to the
05:13 point of functional immortality.
05:15 This means that even if there were dangers afoot, then they needn't kill us off.
05:20 Unlike today, future humans will be well-equipped to play the long game, no matter what level
05:25 of struggle is thrown their way.
05:27 Genetic modifications may allow us to tailor and heighten our physical and mental skills,
05:32 while regenerative medicine should have long eradicated all the diseases and conditions
05:36 that we encounter in the modern world.
05:38 However, these advances will have also given rise to various ethical questions about the
05:43 nature of humanity, individuality, and about our role on Earth and in the universe.
05:49 What would you do if you were a biologically enhanced human of the time?
05:53 Do you think you will have evolved enough to outrun anything that could have gone wrong?
05:57 By then we should also be a comfortably space-faring species, colonising other planets and moons
06:03 and mining asteroids, all to our heart's content.
06:06 Many predict that we will have discovered alien life by this point, and if it's intelligent,
06:11 then we might have struck up a relationship with it.
06:13 Although, again, the potential problems of this future epoch might have made that difficult.
06:18 In one especially concerning scenario, we could see the machines of here team up with
06:23 the aliens from afar, all while the lowly humans live under the gaze of both.
06:28 So, if that happens, or if any of the other circumstances unfold, then the question remains…
06:34 are we happy?
06:35 Is in and around the year 12,000 an era of hope, or a time of despair?
06:40 A vision of success, or a picture of doom?
06:43 Here we can look to philosophy for some answers.
06:46 The hedonistic view, for example, argues that happiness is derived from pleasure and the
06:50 avoidance of pain, and in the future, advanced technology may offer unparalleled opportunities
06:56 for pleasure and comfort, enhanced sensory experiences, limitless entertainment options,
07:02 and a world free from disease and poverty.
07:05 However, the counter-argument says that the pursuit of pleasure alone may lead to a shallow
07:10 existence devoid of meaning or purpose.
07:13 Eudaimonia, championed by Aristotle, among others, asserts that happiness is found in
07:18 living a virtuous and fulfilling life… but that might not be possible if even all the
07:23 more positive applications of future tech come to pass.
07:26 Instead, the humans of 12,000 may face profound existential questions about the meaning of
07:32 life.
07:33 For example, are they even needed anymore?
07:36 And if not, then where do they go from there?
07:38 A Buddhist perspective posits that happiness is closely tied to the alleviation of suffering.
07:43 Now, a future marked by advanced medicine and AI-driven mental health solutions, for
07:48 instance, could potentially reduce or even remove the burden of being alive.
07:53 But again, there's a trade-off, as we may instead grapple with new forms of suffering,
07:58 such as with the perceived loss of individuality.
08:01 Finally, happiness is also intrinsically tied to the relationships we have with others.
08:06 In a future defined by shiny tech and digital living, the maintaining of meaningful friendships
08:11 and social connections could become challenging… and the happiness and general psychology of
08:16 the future may depend entirely on how we navigate this hurdle.
08:20 On the one hand, there might be more people to meet than ever, and all of us living the
08:25 most comfortable lives we've ever known.
08:27 On the other, and even if the population does soar, could we be heading for a time of isolation
08:32 and loneliness?
08:34 As with so many of the considerations that need to be made, it's a thin line and a
08:38 delicate balance.
08:39 But the future is coming for us all, so it's surely best to try to ensure that it's somewhere
08:44 that we'll still want to be, and somewhere that will still want us there.
08:49 Because that's what civilization will look like in ten thousand years.
08:53 What do you think?
08:54 Is there anything we missed?
08:55 Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you
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