Today, let’s take a simplified look at the future of artificial intelligence and what this may hold for our future. As with anything futuristic, this blog post is purely speculative. Remember, technology disruptions hit us when we least expect them!
I have asked my team to produce easy-to-understand graphics for each “time block” in this post.
Sit back, grab tea or coffee, and travel with me to 2050!
As we stand on the cusp of a new era of technological advancement, the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) looms large. From healthcare to governance, AI’s potential applications are vast and transformative. This blog post explores a speculative timeline of AI developments from 2025 to 2050, examining possible impacts, challenges, and ethical considerations as AI becomes increasingly integrated into society.
2025: The Healthcare Revolution
By 2025, healthcare ecosystems will be trusting the output of AI systems, moving beyond traditional machine-learning techniques into a new era of discovery. Advancements in vision-based AI tools will leverage systems that are adept at imaging and recognition to diagnose medical conditions at a much earlier stage. The combination of extensive medical records, used as training data and cutting-edge AI and human-curated research, will usher in a new healthcare system. Voice generation allows instantaneous remote and GP-based diagnoses, easing the burdens on the NHS and other worldwide systems.
Healthcare gets personal
From the discovery of the fingerprint to the advent of DNA. We have discovered that we are unique in many ways.
Targeting treatments based on genetics profiles and a patient’s many individual factors such as lifestyle factors and previous medical history. AI and Quantum computing combined will give us unparalleled access to computing power, giving patients hypoer personal treatment plans.
Drug discovery, with the copious notes and details of molecular combinations Quantum-based AI, will process billions of end-points, making the process of new research and medicines at lightning speed.
In drug discovery, AI will sift through millions of molecular combinations, speeding up the identification of new medicines. This could lead to breakthroughs in treating incurable diseases and reduce the time and cost of bringing new drugs to market. This computing power would bring new discoveries for incurable diseases that burden the world today.
As recent events have shown, data privacy and data security will be at the forefront of people’s minds when implementing training systems based on their medical data. It is up to the relevant health authorities to show that this training is needed and that all data will be anonymised before going to any provider.
Re-skilling
If done correctly, the adoption of AI-based healthcare services will modernise systems and outcomes for millions of patients. The technological leap, though, should come with caution. Without the right up-skilling and training, any large-scale project will fail. Alongside any leap, a well-considered training plan should be included, with the migration of legacy skill sets being captured and advanced into the new AI-driven systems.
2028: The car is here! Autonomous driving
By 2028, self-driving cars are expected to be free-flowing across our roads (check out the recent Tesla update); self-driving car algorithms are improving, with sensors and computer vision models improving exponentially. This means that most vehicles will begin to migrate to being self-driven; the car could be leased out when not being used, and a host of new business models will be born.
Goods and services delivered by lorries running constantly, reducing accidents through fatigue or distraction, reducing insurance premiums and a better road system for all.
The never-ending issue of traffic jams and congestion: Would AI solve this using smart vehicle tracking and rerouting around hotspots in real-time? Chaotic, uncontrolled systems such as traffic, including issues introduced by signals and breakdowns, may become a thing of the past. AI-powered systems would target traffic flows in an intelligent, dynamic way.
The rise of self-driving vehicles will impact city planning. The issue with all cities is parking spaces. Self-driving vehicles would be able to drop off and park outside congestion zones, similar to the park-and-ride schemes of today; this development would be amazing for pedestrians, reduce emissions, and give back areas for other uses.
Any major technology shift upends current industries. For instance, how would transportation employment evolve if drivers were not required? This and ethical concerns, such as collecting passenger movement data and the threat of security breaches, will be debated intensely.
2030: The AI teacher will see you now! AI Transforms Education
By 2030, AI is expected to revolutionise education, creating hyper-personalised learning plans for each student. The nature of education will experience a shift unlike one we have never seen before.
AI tutors will provide one-on-one attention to every student simultaneously, offering instant feedback, encouragement, and additional challenges. This could help close achievement gaps and ensure all students receive the support they need to reach their full potential.
The journey we see now in virtual reality, such as meta and augmented reality with Apple Vision, is a glimpse into the future of learning. A pupil learning about the Renaissance will be able to visit the Medici workshops in Florence to study the master’s creating works such as David or the Portrait of Pope Leo X. This form of interactive learning allows for a much greater understanding beyond names, dates and summaries and will allow our children to be immersed on the subject in question.
The teacher working late marking papers will be a relic of the past, with AI automating these tasks and providing on-demand feedback on any student performance data. The freeing of resources within the education sector will give teachers the opportunity to grow the child’s emotional and physical well-being. This would be needed to offset any screentime concerns and provide human interaction that is key to cognitive development. Open sourcing of all AI models for education should be made a law to ensure that privilege isn’t gained by the deployment of advanced models within the system causing inequality.
2033: AI-Driven Scientific Breakthroughs
By 2033, AI running on quantum-based systems is expected to drive possibilities and outcomes that we have never imagined, leading to breakthroughs in physics, chemistry, biology and every field of human endeavour. At this time, human history will advance in ways not even conceivable today. From implementations of quantum-level materials such as graphene to the upending of Newtonian physics, an age of human enlightenment would be upon us.
Dark matter, energy generation nuclear fission, black holes, wormholes. The possibilities of solving the superconductor properties that work at room temperature and solar cells that retain more energy are boundless.
AI will become an indispensable tool for everyone where traditional silos of knowledge such as medical vs, astrophysics will merge into one discipline. Knowledge will be codified but with a human intuition to drive AI into new research and discoveries.
I hope that today’s AI race will be tomorrow’s collaboration. The power of AI will need to be shared with open access and global laws to ensure that humankind benefits from discoveries made.
2035: Minority Report Time? AI Assists in Governance
By 2035, governments may begin bringing AI systems into judicial and other legal and policy-making areas. The AI judge will mediate county court disputes and allocate the budget from central to local government. Would we vote for the party that wants to be elected on a data-driven efficiency platform?
Open access to the vast troves of government and industry data (this is where China has a huge advantage today) to model the impacts of policy decisions and run ‘what if’ analyses before implementing a policy, including accounting for unintended consequences. And an AI would not fall asleep in the House of Lords!
Readiness for disasters and pandemics from AI simulations would ensure that whatever the occurrence, we have a plan to work with. That plan could involve AI allocating human resources such as police, fire and medical staff to zones.
During crises such as natural disasters or pandemics, AI systems could assist in coordinating emergency responses, predicting the spread of diseases, and allocating resources where they’re needed.
However, using AI in governance will raise significant concerns amongst those affected by a decision, whether this be ethical or political bias. The key to gaining trust is to be open; AI systems should be open, and explain any judgement or reasoning with a clear path showing an external user how it reached any decision; the AI black boxes of today should be related to the past.
2040: Enter the Humanoid the Human-AI Collaboration Peak
By 2040, will AI become a flow within us, like the bird I can see out of my office window riding the thermal air currents. I believe we will become one with AI; advances in voice-driven technology will give us instant access to everything from personal management to healthcare diagnosis and advice.
The construction site of today will be no more tomorrow. Robots will perform all dangerous tasks with little to no human supervision, and deliveries will be drone or robot-based. Communication will be voice-driven, instantaneous, and holographic in nature. Like the smartphone of today, AI augmentation will help us navigate, connect, and be human.
Lawyers, accountants and other professions will be driven with augmented intelligence with access to vast troves of data to drive outcomes in all professional fields.
This human / AI / Robotic shift will bring benefits but also significant challenges. We must be prepared for the psychological and other drawbacks this coordination will bring to our humanity.
2045: Humanity and the AI Consciousness Debate
By 2045, will machines be seen as sentient? humans have always tried to make other entities, such as dogs, “human” by giving them human names and bringing them into our homes.
- Will we do the same for AI and robot entities?
- Will the robot be part of the family?
- Will the children have overwhelming affection for the robot nanny?
- Will human attachments to robots cause personal loss?
- Will we look to transfer consciousness to make ‘digital twins”?
- Will there be a robot bill of rights as we begin to see signs of emotional intelligence and self-awareness?
Philosophers, neuroscientists, and AI researchers should come together now to map out the answers to these questions.
Thank you for reading this blog, if you have any questions or feedback, get in touch!
Max Vince is a dynamic and passionate professional who is currently part of the customer success team at Disruptive Live. With a background in customer service and account management, Max brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his role at Disruptive Live. He is dedicated to helping customers achieve their goals and is committed to providing them with the best possible service.