Image copyright THINGSTOCK Image caption BBC asks readers what the world will look like in 100 years
1. Thousands of farms will operate in the oceans, producing food on an unheard of scale (Jim 300)
IP: Probability 10 out of 10. We have to feed 10 billion people, and our planet does not have the resources for this. These ocean farms will grow not only fish, but also algae, which will be used for food and fuel.
PT: It's quite possible. According to Denis Bushnell, a senior researcher at NASA's Langley Research Center, seaweed, which will be genetically modified to absorb large amounts of nitrogen from the atmosphere, will free up to 68% of the fresh water that humanity now uses for agriculture.
2. The transmission of thoughts over a distance will become a reality (Dev 2)
IP: Probability 10 out of 10. Telepathy will become one of the usual forms of increasing the functionality of the brain. The perception of thoughts and their transmission over a distance will become as commonplace as storing thoughts in computer networks.
PT: It's quite possible. Artificial telepathy now seems like a fantasy, but it is quite real, if the transmission of thoughts is understood as the transmission of electrical signals of the brain.
3. Thanks to the achievements of genetics, we will be able to create people with the highest level of intelligence, immortality (game_over)
IP: Probability 9 out of 10. Direct connection of the brain to the computer will give people immortality in the practical sense of the word, however, genetic modification will lead to a significant extension of life until electronic immortality becomes available to everyone at a reasonable price.
PT: It's quite possible. The idea that scientific breakthroughs in genetics, biotechnology, and the development of artificial intelligence will expand the boundaries of the human mind and enable our species to largely overcome death is sometimes referred to as a singularity.
4. We will learn to fully control the weather (mariebee_)
Image copyright THINGSTOCK Image caption In 50-60 years, many people will probably use computer brain enhancers.IP: Probability 8 out of 10. Already now there are ways to fight a tornado or make it rain. Thanks to the study of climate in recent years, due to fears of global warming, we have a better understanding of the mechanisms that influence the weather. Perhaps new methods of such influence will be too expensive for everyday use, and they will be resorted to only in critical circumstances.
PT: It's quite possible. Such attempts are inevitable. Most American scientists support a federal program to study methods of intervention in the climate of our planet. These geoengineering technologies are designed to neutralize human impact on the climate.
5. Antarctica will lose the status of a protected area (Dev 2)
IP: Probability 8 out of 10. The temptation to use this protected continent for the extraction of mineral resources will be too strong. Mankind will do this subject to the strictest observance of environmental standards.
PT: It's quite possible. But even before that, we will witness the development of the Arctic. In the coming decades, the struggle for control over the natural resources of the Arctic will become a major political issue for the Nordic countries and all of humanity. In case of its successful solution, it will be the turn of Antarctica.
6. A single world currency will be introduced (Kennys_Heroes)
IP: The probability is 8 out of 10. Already now we see electronic money being used everywhere, and this trend will develop. It is possible that by the middle of our century there will be only a few regional physical currencies, plus a global electronic currency. By the end of the century, she will be the only one.
IP: Not likely. In fact, the trend in this area is in the opposite direction. The Internet makes possible new forms of exchange of goods and services. Therefore, the number of different types of currency is likely to increase.
7. A direct connection will be established between the human brain and the computer (Dev 2)
IP: Probability 10 out of 10. For many, this will become a reality by 2050. By 2075, the majority of people in developed countries will be using some form of computer brain enhancer.
Image copyright getty Image caption Perhaps marriages will replace short-term contracts8. Nanobots will circulate through our circulatory system, repairing cells and recording our thoughts (Alister Brown)
IP: Probability 7 out of 10.
PT: It's quite possible. So far, medical nanorobots exist only in theory, but research in this area is developing very actively.
9. Fusion will become a reality (Kennys_Heroes)
IP: The probability is 10 out of 10. Fusion power plants will appear, most likely, by 2045-2050, and probably by 2100. Whether they will become the main source of energy for humanity is not yet clear. It is likely that huge solar collectors and shale gas production will claim this place.
10. There will be only three languages left in the world - English, Spanish and Chinese (Bill Walker)
IP: Probability 8 out of 10. Many languages are in crisis and gradually dying, while others face competition from foreign languages. This process may be completed within a century.
11. Same-sex marriage will be accepted in most countries in the world (Paul)
IP: The probability is 8 out of 10. In Western countries this will happen inevitably. In other countries, the process will be slower due to religious restrictions.
12. California will be the first state to secede from the US (Dev 2)
IP: Likely 8 out of 10. Already, there are signs that California will seek to withdraw from the union of the states, and this trend may intensify by the end of the century. At the heart of this phenomenon is the huge difference in wealth between the states and the reluctance of the inhabitants of richer states to finance poorer areas.
13. A space elevator will make space accessible to everyone (Ahdok)
IP: The probability is 8 out of 10. The first space elevators will appear by the middle of the century and will be much cheaper than conventional methods of entering outer space. This will accelerate space exploration and the development of space tourism, although I doubt that the cost of their use will be massively affordable for people.
Image copyright getty Image caption The fight for the environment will cost humanity more and more14. Artificial insemination will completely replace natural insemination (krozier 93)
PT: Not far from the truth. Already, more and more people are using new methods of fertilization. Genetic analysis and selection of fertilized embryos are increasingly used in specialized clinics. Already, embryonic scanning can identify about half of known genetic diseases. And in the next ten years, scientists will learn how to select almost 100% of full-fledged embryos.
IP: Probability 5 out of 10.
15. The natural habitat of humans and animals will be destroyed and replaced by nature reserves and museums (LowMaintenanceLifestyles)
PT: Not far from the truth. Our planet is on the verge of significant species extinction. Protecting biodiversity in an era of increasing resource consumption, overpopulation and environmental degradation will require sacrifice, and can often come at the expense of local, often poor, peoples. Experts believe that the inclusion of the economic interests of the inhabitants of a number of regions in the struggle for the preservation of the environment should become an essential part of the environmental protection strategy.
IP: Probability 2 out of 10.
16. Deserts will turn into rainforests (jim300)
IP: Probability 7 out of 10. Desert control methods are improving and can bring success.
17. Marriage will be replaced by the conclusion of annual contracts (holierthanthou)
IP: Probability 6 out of 10. Habitual forms of marriage will give way to less obligatory ones, which are designed for a certain period of time, and not for life. With increasing life expectancy, this is inevitable - if you expect to live 100 years, it is unlikely that at 20 you should marry to the grave.
18. Sovereign states will disappear, they will be replaced by a world government (krozier93)
PT: Nice try, but not likely. On the contrary, the number of nation-states will increase. In the near future, wealthy citizens and wealthy corporations will seek to buy up areas of the world's oceans to create their own island states in international waters.
IP: Probability 2 out of 10.
19. War will be fought exclusively by remote means (LowMaintenanceLifestyles)
IP: Probability 5 out of 10.
20. There will be a revolution in Britain (holierthanthou)
IP: The probability is 7 out of 10. Although everything is possible.
The experts of the American National Intelligence Council in the report "Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds" predict that in 20 years the world will be radically different from today.
According to American intelligence officers, Japan will also fall into decline.
And the governments of the countries will receive "an unprecedented opportunity to monitor their citizens."
According to the report, in 20 years the world's population will increase by 1.2 billion people and reach 8.3 billion. The demand for food products will increase by 35%, the demand for water, as well as for energy carriers, will almost double. Some continents and regions, such as and , are likely to experience severe food and water shortages.
Unmanned vehicles and total surveillance of citizens
The author of the article ironically notes that experts, unfortunately, do not predict “flying cars”. However, adherents of technological progress should be pleased with unmanned vehicles, which, according to the speakers, will help solve the problem of congestion in urban roads and reduce the number of people.
However, as the document says, the ubiquitous use of communications technology will not only allow people to unite and challenge the government, as was the case during "", but will also give governments an "unprecedented opportunity".
Changes in the global economy
As for the developed countries, they will cede global influence to rapidly developing economies. The role of such states as India, Brazil, as well as regional economies such as Colombia, Indonesia, South Africa, and Turkey will grow. In the next 15-20 years, the development of new technologies will also most likely take place in developing countries, as international companies will focus mainly on such rapidly growing markets.
By 2030, the Chinese economy is very likely to overtake the US economy, and Asia will overtake North America and Europe combined in terms of global influence, cites a thesis from the Voice of America report. Pax Americana, the era of American dominance on the world stage that began in 1945, is rapidly ending. However, the United States will retain its central role in world politics due to the fact that it is the only country capable of mobilizing coalitions to solve global problems, retells The Financial Times.
At the same time, by 2030 the United States will overcome dependence on imports of energy resources and become their exporter, experts predict. The so-called in America will help this.
As for the hydrocarbon market, new technologies for increasing its production could undermine OPEC's control of oil prices.
"This could lead to a collapse in oil prices and a severe negative effect on economies dependent on oil and gas exports," the report says.
These changes have already begun. We can see how every day scientists and engineers make another revolution in the development of artificial intelligence, space flight, medicine and biology, getting closer to the universal basis of our life - DNA.
Speaking at the World Government Summit, held in Dubai, a theoretical physicist, famous popularizer of science, and author of many popular science books, Michio Kaku led a discussion on a topic that will affect us (by us, we mean all of humanity) in the next 20 years .
It was about the changes:
those things and technologies that will change our lives, entering into almost every aspect of it.
These changes have already begun. We can see how every day scientists and engineers make another revolution in the development of artificial intelligence, space flight, medicine and biology, getting closer to the universal basis of our life - DNA.
The development of science and technology is certainly inspiring, but the pace at which it is happening can create a certain level of anxiety for some. Moreover, according to Kaku, in the next twenty years everything around will become even more confusing.
Everything from toilets that can conduct chemical analysis on the go and give recommendations on how to reduce certain substances in the body, and ending with walls that will talk to us - Kaku described at the same time beautiful, a little frightening, and to some extent even comical picture of the world of tomorrow.
Life 2.0
Kaku began by saying that time will change everything. Including our language, which will develop along with technology.
What does it mean?
For example, this means that over time, the word “computer” may disappear from the everyday life of human speech. No, of course, the word itself will remain, but we will lose the importance of the term itself.
In some countries, Kaku says, the word "computer" will disappear from use because these devices will become truly ubiquitous.
There will be no things left in the world that will not themselves be computers. Everything will be computerized.
The scientist continued with a topic about how 3D printing technologies will change the quality of our life.
“We are talking about a new world. A world where everything you can imagine, you can create yourself,” commented Kaku.
He described a world in which we can print out a new pair of shoes, jewelry, or any other item in our wardrobe. If your child wants a new toy, you don't have to go to the store to get it. All you need is to go online, download the design you like, upload it to your computer, and then print it on a 3D printer in the next room of your house, which, by the way, will probably also be printed using a 3D printer. , just bigger.
By the way, about the house.
Our dwellings will no longer be just dwellings. They become tools. Computerized, "live" instruments. And we will also communicate with the wallpaper. Yes, with wallpaper. Do you doubt?
“In the future, we will have “smart paper”. This paper will be able to show us absolutely any information at our request, just like the screens of our today's computers. We will communicate with the walls. And not only we, but they are with us. The architecture of our homes will change so much that our ordinary walls will become our smartphones, laptops and huge TV screens.”
Imagine yourself sitting in a room and talking loudly not only to all the things that surround you in it, but also at this moment being inside the farthest corners of the digital world. However, for some, this may seem depressing and cause a feeling of loneliness. But such is the world of the future.
Technologies will appear in our access that will help us establish contacts with other people located in other parts of the world. Kaku noted that such tools will allow you to share your thoughts and ideas with people whose language you do not even know.
“You can communicate in any language. Your contact lenses will help you with this, translating and reproducing the text written to you directly on your retina, ”commented the popularizer of science.
Want to freshen up and go somewhere? Regardless of where exactly you are going - far or not - you no longer need to have your own car. Yes, and you will also have no need to have a driving skill.
You will be transported by cars. On one's own. Self-managed.
In addition, you will be able to travel light, as you will have to take extra things with you more. Everything you need can be printed on a 3D printer right on the road.
We are approaching a future in which social and economic relationships will be completely different, Kaku noted.
“We are building a so-called “ideal capitalism”, in which there will be no concept of intermediaries and all the negative aspects of ordinary capitalism. The winner in this will be society, the losers - intermediaries, third parties. Exchangers,” said Kaku.
The last question of the discussion concerned ourselves directly.
“Artificial intelligence will be able to bring victory for us over what no king and no queen of the past could defeat - the aging process. Over time, we all grow old and die. The old breeds errors in work. Once we can use AI to compare millions of old people's genes with millions of young people's genes, then we can determine where and how exactly the aging process begins. And then just eradicate it."
The picture of the future, you see, promises to be attractive. But is it really so? It is difficult to answer this. Everything looks tempting, but let's return to this issue in 20 years. publishedIf you have any questions on this topic, ask them to specialists and readers of our project.
In 2045, the world familiar to us today will be completely different. Predicting the future is almost impossible, but when it comes to scientific facts or technological advances, DARPA staff are the best people to ask about it.
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)- This is a well-known agency in the United States for advanced defense research and development. Founded in 1958, it has behind it some of the biggest discoveries related to weapons issues. Many of the agency's developments subsequently spilled over into the civilian industry. These are, for example, advanced robotics, a GPS navigation system and the Internet.
In general terms, the picture of the future is as follows: it is likely that thanks to robots the industry will completely change, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) will appear not only in military aviation, but also in civil aviation, and autopiloted cars (those without drivers) will make our way to work more tolerant.
In addition to all this, scientists from DARPA have some more grandiose assumptions. They share their thoughts on what awaits our planet in 30 years in a video called Forward to the Future. Some excerpts from this video, as well as the video itself in English, are given below.
Dr. Justin Sanchez, a neuroscientist and one of the DARPA scientists, believes that in the future we will be able to control things simply by using the power of thought:
Imagine a world where you could mentally control everything that happens around you. Just imagine being able to control the appliances in your home or communicate with your friends and family just by using your brainwaves.
To date, DARPA already has some innovative developments that confirm the words of Sanchez. For example, brain, controlling prosthetic hands. This study involved a man who had been paralyzed for more than ten years. It was thanks to the futuristic prosthetic hand that he was able to “feel” physical touch.
Stefanie Tompkins, a geologist and head of one of the research divisions of DARPA, believes that in the future it will be possible to produce incredibly strong, but at the same time very light things. For example, skyscrapers made of carbon fiber. This material is much more reliable than steel, very rigid and durable, but has a much lower mass. This is direct evidence that things are getting much more complex at the molecular level.
“I think we will have a very different relationship with machines in 2045,” says Pam Melroy, a space engineer and former astronaut with DARPA. She is sure that we will find a time when it will be enough just to verbally explain to the machine what you want from it, or to press a single button, instead of using a keyboard or elementary voice recognition systems.
Today, in order to land a plane, the pilot will need to perform a certain sequence of actions: check the navigation systems, adjust the brake throttles, pull the handle to lower the landing gear, and so on. For a successful landing, all these steps must be completed in the correct order.
Instead, according to Melroy, in order to land in the near future, it will be enough to say just two words: “Start landing”, and the computer will sequentially perform a series of necessary steps. And who knows, maybe then the pilot will not be needed at all.
Bold assumptions about the near future are put forward not only by DARPA employees, but also by some other scientists. Ian Pearson has some very interesting ideas. You might think that this is just another boring report in the style of "augmented reality and artificial intelligence will become an integral part of people's daily lives, flying cars will fill all the roads, and gadgets will be super smart and super thin." But no, it's much more interesting.
Jan Pearson
Doctor of Science and researcher, versed in many branches of science: from aeronautics to cybernetics. He writes articles, gives lectures and gives advice on technological innovations that await us in the near future. Below are some of his predictions for what cities and transportation will be like by 2045.
Below are seven of the most interesting assumptions about the future of cities.
1. Buildings will be controlled by artificial intelligence (“Hi, building version of Siri!”)
techinsider.io Residents will have the opportunity to “ ” with the building and formulate a request, for example, in order to change the temperature in the room.
techinsider.io With land prices as huge as they are now, super tall buildings will be transformed in such a way that they can function as mini cities. That is, they will have floors designed for offices, apartments, recreation and entertainment.
techinsider.io In the second part of the film "", Marty's house was equipped with a virtual reality window that could show anything. Presumably, by 2045, buildings will not have windows, because they will be replaced with just such screens. This will greatly help to build economy-class housing very cheaply and quickly.
techinsider.io This is in many ways similar to solar panels that exist today. But unlike them, a special material made of nanoparticles can be sprayed onto various surfaces. Such surfaces will be able to absorb and convert sunlight into energy.
GaudiLab/shutterstock.com Light will accompany you while moving around the apartment. It will also be possible to adjust the amount of lighting sufficient for you. Some of these developments already exist. For example, Ario is a lamp that mimics the natural light of the sun to help improve the user's health.
6. Construction workers will use exoskeletons to carry heavy loads without harm to health
techinsider.io Iron Man can boast not only Robert Downey Jr., but also ordinary builders. Thanks to such an exoskeleton, an ordinary person will be able to perform many actions that are usually beyond his power, such as lifting significant loads. In addition, it is an additional protection against damage.
7. Robots will work at dangerous sites
techinsider.io There are suggestions that in the future robots will work alongside humans on various projects. They will replace a person in those places where the danger of an explosion or collapse is most likely.
What will transport look like in 2045?
The transport industry, unlike all others, is developing relatively slowly. Without a doubt, trains have changed significantly since their invention. But in fact, we still use the old, albeit modified, forms of transportation. However, over the next 30 years we are likely to see more changes in transportation than we have seen in the previous 100 years.
Some of the most daring assumptions are given below.
techinsider.io In fact, it will be possible to move at a speed of more than 800 kilometers per hour.
NowThis/giphy.com The prototype of the flying car was already presented in 2014 during the festival in Vienna. It is difficult to name the exact date of appearance of these cars, but it is possible to say that they already exist.
NASA/flickr.com By 2045, there may be buildings built from super-strong materials based on carbon. The height of the buildings will reach 30-40 kilometers. On these giant skyscrapers it will be possible to build spaceports. At present, equipping launch pads on top of high-rise buildings seems implausible, but thanks to innovative materials, this may well become a reality.
SuperJet International/flickr.com The aircraft industry will continue to develop in the next 30 years. Everything will be done to make the planes fly faster. To increase the speed will help the rejection of windows. Augmented reality will completely replace them.
5. Supersonic aircraft will appear
PatentYogi /youtube.com
The opportunity to fly in an airplane will appear by 2040, however, it will be available only to very wealthy people. The US Patent Office has actually approved an Airbus project that will be able to transport people from London to New York in just one hour.
Here are the predictions for the near future. Looks like 2045 will be pretty good.
In the coming decades, the Russian people may be affected by major changes. This applies to various processes - demographic, social, ethno-cultural, mental. Even intelligence and appearance can change.
Save the ethnos
The Russian people at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries fell into several pits at once. And one of them is common with Europeans. This is the devaluation of the concepts of "ethnos" and "people". Many sociologists say that in the not so distant future, self-identification on the basis of nationality may lose relevance. Just as in the USA, say, an Italian by origin will call himself an American, so in the Russian Federation a Russian will become exclusively a Russian.
Today we are facing a serious challenge - an unprecedented flow of migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus, which in the near future threatens the Russian ethnos, if not disintegration, then a serious transformation, because the birth rate in Asian and Caucasian families is traditionally higher than in Russian.
In Moscow today almost 40% of marriages are mixed. Of course, this is only part of the process of multiculturalization of Russian society, which has gained momentum in recent years. Sociologists predict that meeting a Russian in Moscow in half a century will be as difficult as today a Yakut in a reindeer team rushing along Tverskaya.
But perhaps it's not so sad. The peculiarities of its organism can help the preservation of the Russian ethnos. Recently, Russian and American geneticists have found that even with the total infection of Russians with AIDS, 14% of the country's inhabitants will remain healthy. And it's mostly Russian.
It turns out that there is a deletion gene (CCR5) in the blood of Russians. It counteracts the immunodeficiency virus and prevents it from infecting the cell. In Caucasians, this protective gene is extremely rare. Georgians don't have it at all. But if a Russian woman with such a gene gives birth to a Georgian, then her descendants will forever lose their genetic protection against AIDS, geneticists say.
Demographic challenges
According to the director of the Federal Migration Service of Russia, Konstantin Romodanovsky, there are about 9 million foreign citizens in the Russian Federation, about 29% of them do not know Russian. Moreover, experts developing the Strategy 2020 project for the socio-economic development of Russia proposed to bring another 16 million migrants into the country.
Instead of solving the demographic problem, it is proposed to replace the indigenous population with newcomers. “This is not a strategy for the development of the country, this is a strategy for its extinction,” Igor Beloborodov, director of the Institute for Demographic Research, is indignant.
With the current trend, a drop in the share of Russians in the territory of the modern Russian Federation below 50% is realistically expected already in the 30-40s of the current century, demographers warn. Most recently, Veniamin Popov, a spokesman for the Islamic Conference, stated as a matter of course that by 2050 the followers of Islam will dominate Russia's population.
Given that a huge number of migrants are not capable of integration, and the rate of extinction in Russia is the highest in the world (in 8 years the country has lost more than 13% of its population), this is a serious signal for a society that still lives and thinks in the context of the Russian national idea.
However, the prospects for the complete disappearance of the Russian people are most likely exaggerated, but it must be borne in mind that the Russians' ability to self-organize is incomparable with the peoples of the Caucasus or Central Asia. The threat will become real if the Russians fail to consolidate at the crucial moment. Then they will face the fate of a national minority.
Russian rebellion
And what will happen if the Russian people really end up in danger of extinction as a result of the deterioration of the demographic and social situation? According to sociologists, two scenarios are possible here: a mass exodus of Russians from the country will begin, or, having rallied around the national idea, they will revolt.
But the Russians have already found themselves in such conditions. In 1958, the mass return of Chechens to the restored autonomy in the Caucasus began, which led to a serious conflict with the Russian population. Numerous demonstrations demanding the re-deportation of Chechens then turned into a real pogrom of Caucasians and ended with the storming of the building of the regional committee of the CPSU.
But it may happen that the peak of demographic problems coincides with an internal crisis, then the government can become the object on which the people will pour out their anger. Political scientist Pavel Svyatenkov writes: "If in the coming years it is not possible to create an effective economic model, then Russia will inevitably find itself in a situation of revolution." However, these years may drag on. As you know, the Russians take a long time to harness, but they go fast.
Political analyst Valery Solovey warns that popular unrest will soon begin throughout Russia and the authorities will not be able to suppress them, because they do not have the political will to go to large-scale violence. In Moscow, the scientist continues, people will take to the streets under national slogans, in the provinces - mainly under social ones.
Power will change, and large-scale democratization will begin. According to this scenario, there is no threat of the collapse of the country, since a part of the elite that has joined the popular movement will come to power, and everything will be fine, Nightingale predicts.
Nevertheless, another character of the revolution is also possible. The basic characteristics of the Russian mentality have changed a lot lately. Studies have revealed that individualism, the values of success, prosperity and hierarchy are the driving stimuli of modern Russian youth. In conditions of prosperity of corporations and mafias, these qualities will only increase.
Historian Yaroslav Butakov believes that sooner or later a rebellion will be directed against this system, but not for the sake of social justice, but only for the right to participate in the exploitation of the majority. “The successful leaders of such a rebellion will find themselves in the position of the leaders of the slave rebellion in ancient Egypt. Only instead of the palaces of the pharaohs, they will occupy, relatively speaking, dachas on Rublyovka, ”concludes Butakov.
New race
A few years ago, Health magazine published a study by American scientists who told how a person's appearance will change in the near future. According to experts, in 50 years there will be almost no representatives of the Caucasian race. The reason for this is a sharp increase in the number of marriages between representatives of different nationalities and religions.
Such a mixture will lead to the emergence of a new race, and China will play a major role in this. In 50 years, the researchers say, all Europeans, primarily Russians, will look like the Chinese - they will become shorter, their facial features and genetics in general will change. The prospect is frightening, but unrealistic.
Even ordinary people worry about the fate of the Russian gene pool. Oleg Balanovsky, an employee of the laboratory of human population genetics of the Medical Genetic Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, told reporters about a conversation with a random fellow traveler who began to convince the scientist of the importance of preserving the Russian gene pool, “after all, how many grandmothers from the Swan Lake generation kept Russian traditions, and their granddaughters from the generation Pepsi is only interested in Western fashion."
Balanovsky reassured that the grandmother and granddaughter have the same genes, and they do not change from the fashion for ballet or Pepsi. According to the geneticist, the fellow traveler immediately understood everything, became sad and said: “If the gene pool does not affect anything, why should such a gene pool be preserved?”
Losing ground
Today, the Russian language is the fourth in the world in terms of the number of people speaking it and is second only to English, Chinese and Spanish in this component. But soon the situation may change. Every year there are fewer and fewer native speakers of the Russian language. Moscow State University rector Viktor Sadovnichy said that in 10 years Russian will be left behind French, Hindi and Arabic.
Data from the Center for Sociological Research of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia show that the number of Russian speakers by this time may be reduced to 212 million people. And by 2025, the Russian language will give way to Bengali and Portuguese.
The Ministry of Education and Science also reports that today about 225,000 schoolchildren study the Russian language in Western European countries, although their number exceeded 550,000 before the early 1990s. Experts are convinced that the reduction in Russian language speakers will inevitably deal a serious blow to Russian culture as a whole.
frightening future
The Russian mentality is a mysterious thing. Last but not least, it took shape under the influence of the contrasting climate of the Russian open spaces. The wilting of nature and the cold lasting more than half a year are suddenly replaced by violent flowering and steady heat.
Historian Valery Ilyin says that in this powerful amplitude of oscillations is the secret of the pendulum of the Russian character: decline is replaced by an incredible rise, a long depression - a huge surge of optimism, apathy and lethargy - a surge of strength and inspiration. Recently, climatologists are increasingly saying that from year to year the weather will become more and more unpredictable. And only God knows how the notorious Russian character will manifest itself under these conditions.
Biochemist Alexander Spirin sees a threat to the Russian mentality in something else. “In the age of informatics and computer technology, it became obvious that a person lost to a computer. Probably, in the future it will become a toy for computers, which better and faster understand what and how to do,” the scientist believes. Traditional Russian slowness in the fight against "smart" machines makes us very vulnerable.
Another factor does not give optimism - the state of "Russian brains". In one of his works, Academician Nikolai Shmelev noted that for the past fifteen years, the policy of the top leadership proceeded from the fact that fundamental and applied research, education, the health care system and culture are redundant for the country.
The scientist recalled that Germany, after the mass emigration of scientists in the 30s of the last century, still cannot fully restore its scientific potential. Something similar, according to Shmelev, awaits us in the next two generations. Russia has every chance of becoming a genuine "world intellectual backwater".
Under full control
In 2010, at the World Exhibition in Shanghai, in the Russian pavilion, the domestic innovative achievement of the foresight project "Childhood-2030" was exhibited. The ideologist of the project, President of the International Methodological Association Sergey Popov, commenting on his brainchild, noted that the project stands for the departure from traditional forms of family life in favor of the development of other diverse options - guest marriages, multiple marriages, various educational communities. Popov pays especially much attention to parenthood, which, in his opinion, should be made a profession.
In the future, the project provides for the creation of special cities where children separated from their families will be trained and learn the basics of life from “competent mentors”. For those children who cannot reach the required level, the foresight project has a program for electronic correction of their abilities by introducing chips into the body.
And in 2025-2030, according to innovative plans, the first children with the given characteristics and capabilities should be born. Even in the prenatal period, this will be ensured by special nanotechnologies. Considering that such children will be brought up by robots according to the project, it is scary to imagine what generation of people we will get in 20-30 years.